


Chance For Reunions

by CanuckleheadCowgirl, magnetocerebro



Series: The 714 Marvel Universe [14]
Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse), Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: 714 Universe - Freeform, F/M, Gen, Hell. Let's make all of 'em happy while we're at it, Make KURT Happy, Make Logan Happy, Make Scott Happy, Then they can just wallow, Unless they're awful, X-Families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-04-08 11:16:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 72,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14104176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanuckleheadCowgirl/pseuds/CanuckleheadCowgirl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetocerebro/pseuds/magnetocerebro
Summary: Volume 13 of the 714 Universe!The ferals are still on the run. Their best friends are still trying to get them home. Will the Howletts manage to stay safe, and will the X-Men and Avengers alike convince Washington to do the right thing and stop the witch hunt so they can come home? And in the mean time ... while all the drama rages, the kids of Xavier's are growing up regardless of the political climate.





	1. Dumb Blonde

"You knew this was going to happen," Rachel said as she tried to do a few last minute adjustments to Scott's hair. They were surrounded by J. Jonah Jameson's staff ahead of the interview, but Rachel had determined that  _she_ would be the one to be with Scott for this particular stage of things. After all, with someone influencing JJ's mind, there was no way she'd let Scott go in alone.

And even without the telepathic considerations, Rachel had to admit that she was generally a little protective of Scott — considering how much JJ had been on the warpath and how badly she knew her father was taking Logan and K's absence. That decision was weighing on him heavily, and he had been stressed beyond his usual level over the whole thing.

So, yes, it was definitely worth keeping an eye on him.

Scott raised an eyebrow her way. "Yes, I knew — but I was hoping it wouldn't be this quickly," he admitted.

"Really?" she asked with one eyebrow raised and a totally disbelieving expression that looked so much like Jean he almost had to check himself.

"I figured he'd wait until things really got rolling in the House — when the spotlight's really on. People are still traveling for the holidays or recovering from New Year's," Scott said reasonably, then shook his head. "Yeah. That was what I was  _hoping_ for, anyway."

"Well … that … is just unrealistic," she said with a frown.

"Optimistic," he countered. "Hope for the best and plan for the worst, Rachel." It was a phrase he'd used so often it was out of his mouth before he even knew what he was saying, and he paused and gave her a second glance. "Don't worry — I've prepped for this since day one."

"Would it help or hurt if I called you a boy scout right now?" she teased.

He gave her a very dry look. "Don't you start too."

"Just trying to help," she grinned at him. "Go get 'em."

He had to breathe out a laugh at her antics and shook his head.  _You too. I'm still betting you can pin down who's pulling his strings while I play twenty questions_ , he projected to her so that the cameras wouldn't pick it up.

 _Don't worry,_  she replied seriously.  _I've got an eye on you too. No one will get past me_ —  _for either one of you._

Scott smirked at that.  _Well, good. I'd rather not find out I said something stupid on air that wasn't my own fault,_  he teased before he gave her one last wide grin and headed over to the stage to sit down across from J. Jonah Jameson.

The cameras weren't on yet, so Scott figured he'd try to at least be approachable, if nothing else because he and Rachel were starting to realize this whole debacle wasn't  _entirely_ JJ's fault. "How were your holidays?" he asked politely — but without offering his hand for JJ to shake.

"Don't think I'm going to take it easy on you just because you're making a miserable attempt to kiss up," JJ said with a hard glare.

Scott frowned and settled back a bit, falling into a glare of his own already. "I didn't realize it was kissing up to wish anyone a happy holidays. Or are we past the season of well-wishing now that it's January?"

JJ scoffed. "As if the only reason you're here isn't because you know the way the wind is blowing. You know this is a desperate attempt to slow down a freight train."

"I came here because your producers called and wanted me here," Scott replied evenly. "And the last time one of us stayed out of the spotlight, you slandered her  _and_  Noh-Varr."

"Nothing that I said about those two criminals was untrue," JJ countered.

"Even calling them criminals?" Scott replied with a bit of heat. "Or was there a trial I didn't hear about? That wouldn't surprise me the way things are going."

"Are you trying to imply that all of those files that outline murder on top of murder weren't her?"

"I'm not implying anything — I'm outright telling you. You're looking at the wrong people." Scott had just settled into his best glare when the producers called out that they were going live, and the lights came up as JJ went into his introduction for the segment, seemingly impervious to the look of loathing Scott already had going, even if he  _was_ trying to pull it back at least a little on-camera.

"Joining us today is the leader of the vigilante group the X-Men — better known in most publications and FBI profiles as Cyclops, now lacking his usual ruby quartz — Scott Summers." JJ had his 'professional' glare on as he turned to Scott again. "Welcome to the show."

Scott already had his jaw locked as he nodded once. "It's nice to be able to speak for the school and the X-Men instead of being talked  _about_."

"We'll get to that later," JJ said. "I thought we could start out with the impending passage of the mutant tracking bill. How are the X-Men going to handle not being troublemaking terrorists when the authorities know where you are at all times?"

"Considering we've never been a terrorist group, I don't think that will be much of an issue."

"That's not what the FBI and Homeland Security says," JJ replied. "Your group of vigilantes seems to fit the definition exactly."

"And we're working to try and change that perception," Scott said. "It's too bad that there's such a deep misunderstanding of what we do, but hopefully, we can fix that." He had on a tight smile as he was trying very hard not to blast the man across from him.

"I'm not sure that we can see eye to eye on that one, Mr. Summers. Especially when there are things like the Phoenix incident that spring so vividly to mind."

Scott straightened perceptibly, and his hands were clenched in fists underneath the table.

 _It's not him,_  Rachel projected out to Scott.  _Someone else is doing this. Believe it or not, JJ's fighting it. Badly. But … not a total waste from someone with no skills. I'm going to push it back a bit. Try to rein in the rage._

Scott took in a breath, closed his eyes, and nodded, but it didn't do much for the frustration.

"Come now, Mr. Summers. Why don't you tell us about how non-threatening you and your group of  _heroes_ are," JJ said, though he didn't look as though he had the same fire he did moments ago.

Scott took a deep breath. "I know our track record isn't perfect. And I know when an overwhelming entity took over several members of my team, myself included, it only made the public perception worse. But that's why I'm here. We don't have anything to hide, John."

"You say that now, but when I came to take my tour of your facilities, you blocked me from several places. Not exactly a shining example of transparency."

"We have kids as young as two months old there," he replied. "There are privacy concerns."

"Two months old and you allow them to be around those … dangerous ferals," JJ said. "Where are those criminals anyhow? I know you have to know."

"I really don't," Scott said with a bit of heat.

"Do you really expect me to believe they just … disappeared? That no one at that  _school_ has any idea where two of the most dangerous mutants on the planet are at?" He leaned forward a bit. "They lived there. You told me yourself they were on staff. How does that even happen?"

"I considered them both to be good friends, and the kids at our school loved their classes," Scott replied evenly.

"And what kind of classes would a pair of assassins teach? Or is that part of why I didn't get all access? You're building an army of some sort, aren't you?"

"You didn't get access because I'm not going to let you violate my students' privacy and put them on display," Scott said sharply.

"But that's not all — you don't want anyone to see where you're hiding them."

Scott actually barked out a laugh. "You think I could hide them? You really think that?" He shook his head. "You'd know if K was there; she couldn't have resisted the opportunity to give you a piece of her mind along with the tour itself, and you know it, your viewers know it, your ratings  _prove_ it." He chuckled for another moment and then leaned back. "You're the one saying they're so dangerous. Do you really think they were scared off by your  _guided tour_?"

"I think you hid them until we were done," JJ replied. "I think they're still there — tucked away somewhere. Or at least close enough that you can communicate."

"I haven't spoken with either of them since they left, and they were sure to leave their phones. Wolverine even gave me his comm," Scott said, his eyes flashing. "They didn't tell me where they were going."

"I find that incredibly hard to believe," JJ said, leaning back in his chair, though he wasn't looking directly at Scott anymore.

"I wouldn't come all this way just to lie to you. They left. I don't know where — and frankly, they didn't want to tell me. If you knew Wolverine at all, you'd know that's not exactly out of character either."

"Did they leave alone?" JJ asked before he seemed to shake his head a bit to himself.

"I really couldn't tell you. I didn't see them go," Scott said, though he was watching JJ now with his eyebrow half raised. He was sure that Rachel was making progress, though it was hard to tell from this side.

"Are you concerned about the two of them being found? Or retaliation by outside forces?"

"It's my understanding that the whole reason they left was to try to shield us from retaliation," Scott said, his head tipped to one side. That question wasn't like the others… "Like I told you before, we have families at the school. The staff members sometimes live there — and in this climate, I guess those two thought it would be safer for everyone at the school if they were to leave."

"Safer for you and your staff — not them," JJ said, though he looked to be focusing a bit better now.

"That's what I said," Scott said. "They're not the types to shy away from a threat."

"That doesn't exactly match the profile of vicious and self-serving psychopaths," JJ said with a little frown.

"That's because they're neither of those things," Scott said, starting to smirk a bit. Rachel was definitely winning. "They're excellent teachers, good friends, and they'd give you the shirts off their backs if you needed it. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more selfless."

"I was under the impression that you and Wolverine had a bit of a feud that has been ongoing for years," JJ said.

"He gets on my nerves. That's not uncommon when you live in the same space," Scott said with a light shrug, sure not to rise to the bait. Even if it was one of the more accurate things JJ had said in the entire interview. "But I told you I wouldn't have come all this way to lie to you. As the leader of our team, I've seen them in action — and as their friend, I've seen them with our students and families. I can tell you they're kindhearted and still be annoyed when they get on my nerves."

JJ looked like he might even be on the verge of a smirk. "Careful Mr. Summers, it almost sounds like they're part of the family."

Scott blinked at JJ for a second and then slowly shook his head. "It's a  _very_ close-knit team."

"So as close-knit of a group as you are …. The accusations in the air from various sources — how true are they, seeing as you know them best?" JJ asked. "Charges and accusations of murder, mayhem, assassinations, political upheavals …"

"You mean the things in those files you've been putting out, along with others?"

"I'm afraid those are the only files I've had access to so far," JJ said. "But my team is looking deeper, I assure you. I want all sides of this story — and you can put that on the record."

Scott actually grinned as he leaned forward.  _Thanks, Rachel._  "I'm sure once you dig deeper, you'll find what I know from personal experience — anything in those files wasn't their doing. Not by choice. Not by any stretch of the imagination. And frankly, you can't pin the blame on people who were forced into servitude for the sins of the people at the top. Find the person calling the shots and stop scrambling for scraps trying to frame their victims."

"Not by choice ... " JJ seemed to weigh it out. "As in someone was controlling them through force somehow? All things considered, that doesn't sound entirely unbelievable — though a bit far-fetched."

"Force, torture, anything you can imagine. Not even I know all the details, but what I do know ... it keeps me up nights, if I'm being honest," Scott told him. "The people I know, the ones that let the smallest kids tackle them so they can say they took down Wolverine? They're nothing like what you're reading in the reports, and there's a reason for that. Several reasons. You're just not looking hard enough."

"In that case, I'd love to get your sources," JJ said. "They will remain confidential, of course."

"I'd love to help clear the air and focus on the actual problem."

The interview more or less wrapped up shortly after that as JJ seemed to have all of the wind taken out of his sails midway through — and when the on-air sign flicked off, his handlers were checking him over, afraid that he'd had a cardiac episode mid- show. But he was quick to wave them off in such a grouchy manner that they were easily convinced otherwise.

"Thanks for listening, JJ," Scott said with a passable attempt at a friendly smile.

JJ watched Scott for a moment before he leaned forward again. "What did you people do to me?"

Scott shook his head. " _We_ didn't do anything. In fact, I'd like to introduce you to the girl who just saved your mind from Weapon X." He tipped his head at Rachel, who was looking positively triumphant and confident.

"Charmed," Rachel said as she extended her hand his way. "Frankly, I'm impressed," she told him. "You fought them really well, but you had three high-functioning telepaths working you over. And I am sorry about that, but I can promise they won't bother you again."

"Three  _what now_?" JJ stared at her openly.

"Three Weapon X telepaths, I'm sure you've seen them around. They travel in a pack and share a hive-mind. Blondes. Tall. Kind of look like they're sniffing something awful all the time," Rachel explained. "They hijacked your mind and were using you to push their agenda."

JJ fell into a glare as he rubbed the spot just between his eyebrows with one hand before he looked at Rachel. "And I'm just supposed to take your word for it."

"If you want me to show you the extent of their manipulations, you're going to need to lie down somewhere quiet first," Rachel said, her arms crossed over her chest and her hip cocked to the side.

"Stay out of my head," JJ grumbled at her. "You don't need to go through my private thoughts — just tell me what's going on before I change my mind and call security on both of you."

"Believe me, I'm not interested in your thoughts in the least," Rachel said, shaking her head with an expression that emphasized exactly what she thought of that line of thinking. "But I did make sure no one will even attempt to invade your mind again. Also — you're welcome."

"Rachel just saved your mind and your career, John. The least you can do is thank her," Scott prompted, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Or — you know — make good on your promises to dig," Rachel said.

JJ snorted out a breath. "I have — or, I should say, I  _had_ — every intention of digging up everything I can on these people. I know a good story when I see one, and this — this is the story of the decade, at least."

"Call Kate Wagner," Rachel said. "Tell her you were under Cuckoo attack — and no, that's not a joke."

"It sounds like a joke," JJ grumbled.

"Believe me — I agree," Rachel replied. "And comparatively? Kind of funny considering the source."

Scott had to smirk her way and even chuckled a bit before he turned to JJ. "Kate's met the Cuckoos. She'll know what you're talking about. And she's been working since you asked her to help you dig. Some of us  _do_  keep our end of deals."

JJ shook his head and muttered to himself for a moment before he frowned and looked Scott's way. "There's a bill. I was reading about it around Christmas ... I think." He shook his head. "What did they  _do_ to me?"

"You pushed for its passage," Scott informed him. "It made it through the Senate."

JJ swore very loudly and then glared at Scott and Rachel. "Crooks and politicians taking the coward's way of fighting. No respect for the things our country was built on."

"Exactly," Scott agreed. "That's how we've been looking at it."

JJ looked all the more incensed. "It should never have been  _voted_ on. Extremist measures. Trying to lump everyone into one category. When I take you terrorists down, it'll be on legal terms, not this… sham."

"What you experienced? The lost time, the missing moments, the fog? That's a taste of what our  _dangerous_ feral friends were subjected to for  _years_. And like them? Like it or not, you'll always be held publicly responsible for your part in that bill's support."

JJ looked properly red-faced — even more so than usual — as he settled into his most impressive glare yet. "They can't  _do_ this! I've built my company on solid, honest-to-God journalism!"

"And they did it anyhow," Rachel said. "You fought it, but they still did it. Imagine what they'd do to someone with our friends' natural abilities?"

He sat heavily in his chair and stared beyond the two of them for a long moment, rubbing his temples almost absently. "Oh God."

"And this was just the telepaths." Scott fixed JJ with a hard look. "You were lucky. They've done far worse to the Howletts. Medical experimentation, drugs, every form of mind-control you can think of, physical, mental, and emotional manipulation and torture."

"Careful, Summers. Sounds like you're trying to scare me off the case," JJ said with a wry look.

"Just trying to warn you of the depth so you're not taken off guard," Scott replied. "I've known Logan for years — and  _I_  wasn't anywhere near fully prepared."

"That just makes the story that much bigger," JJ replied, straightening up a bit and regaining some of his fire. He looked toward Rachel. "Looks like we're putting out fires here. I don't suppose you have anything I can use? Something  _solid_?"

"Yeah … unfortunately, the problem with telepathic abuses is that it actually takes a telepath to see it. Usually, one that's a lot stronger than the one that made the mess, too." She looked truly sorry to say it. "But I can find them and stop them from bothering anyone again."

"I don't want to know about it. I really don't," JJ said, shaking his head. "I'm not getting pulled into your terrorist threats."

"Nothing that would be detected by anyone but another, stronger telepath, I assure you," Rachel said with a flash behind her eyes.

"We'll just cut off their power to control people," Scott assured him.

"You can do that?" JJ asked, looking a bit shocked by the news as he looked between the two of them.

"In this case?" Scott shrugged lightly. "They're clones. They share a hive mind. It's a special situation."

"You did want some transparency," Rachel half sang.

JJ shook his head, though he looked almost weary. "And that's where the story is." He looked between the two. "Alright, now scram. I've got a phone call to make to your Ms. Bishop, and if your sources aren't solid…"

"It's Mrs. Wagner," Scott corrected. "And my sources are rock solid."

With that, Scott and Rachel headed out of the studio, though for Rachel, there was no mistaking the proud sort of look Scott kept shooting her until they were nearly out of the building. "Nice work," he said when they got in the elevator to the parking garage. "I don't think I've ever seen JJ shut down like that — except maybe with K."

Rachel shot him a very wide smile. "I told you — I've got this," she said.

He chuckled. "Yeah, you do," he agreed before the elevator doors dinged open on the third floor to admit another passenger.

There was no mistaking the tall, haughty blonde who walked in.

"They'll let anyone in here it seems," Rachel said to Scott sideways, not bothering to hide her disdain.

"Clearly," Emma said, giving Rachel a clear once-over. "I didn't realize it was take-your-daughter to work day."

"Funny you should put it that way, since your clones have been running around and ... well. The only way organisms like  _you_ can reproduce is through cloning."

"I know about the girls already, or I wouldn't be in this … sad excuse for a journalistic building," Emma said, her nose turned up, though she wasn't looking at Rachel anymore. Instead, she half bit her lip looking over Scott, who was all but screaming with his body language how much he was not happy about this turn of events.

"Oh, are they here by your orders then?" Rachel asked, ready to let loose on her, the fire clearly flashing in her eyes — more than Scott knew considering the clear discomfort she could hear from him. She had already started out the day ready to watch out for his psychic well being, and that wasn't about to stop just because the interview was over.

"Hardly," Emma said, waving her hand.

"Then the hive mind extends to you, and you can't think for yourself," Rachel said. "No other reason for you to be here. No one else wants to talk to you."

"You've been spending too much time with the shoddy excuses for journalists around here such a  _wild_ imagination,  _Hound_. I merely came here to collect the girls to prevent them from being used any further," Emma said with a sneer before she turned her full attention elsewhere and grinned Scott's way, leaning forward enough to show off her best features. "I like the new look."

"She's right," Scott said, not bothering to look her way. "No one here wants to talk to you."

"As I recall, there wasn't much talking before either," she said with a wicked smile as she took another step closer.

"There were a lot of violent teammates though," Rachel said as Scott glared at Emma. "That much hasn't changed a bit. And some of us don't have as much control."

"Then you clearly haven't learned from Scott's  _fine_ example," Emma said in what was nearly a purr. She leaned over with an oily smile and reached up to run her hand over the side of Scott's face, pausing where the glasses would have been.

Before Scott could react, Rachel reached over and grabbed Emma around the neck with one arm, pulling her backward and then throwing her to the ground while the elevator lurched to a stop. The doors flung open with more speed than they would have normally, and Emma found herself being simply launched out of it before the doors slammed shut and the two Summerses continued the final couple of floors down to the parking level.

Scott was quiet for the rest of the ride until the doors dinged open again, but the smirk had started somewhere after Emma flew out of the elevator and was in full force by the time they got out.

"Wanna grab some lunch?" Rachel asked in a perfectly businesslike tone. "I know a place nearby — but not  _too_ close."

The smirk broke into a grin as Scott nodded. "I'll buy," he agreed.


	2. Missing Friends

Kate had never been to JJ's office — only to his studio. But she wasn't surprised to see that he had sort of a Spartan arrangement, with the exception of a few blown-up front-page stories from his career, many of which featured Spiderman.

He was typing away on a project of some kind when she entered, and he hardly looked up until she was seated at his desk across from him — though when he did, she could see he was already excited about the story.

Kate set the Air Gap laptop down on his desk with no flourishes. "This thing doesn't have any online capabilities. It just has the info we've got so far — at least what we've been able to sift through." She tapped the laptop. "This is just the beginning, but you know how it is when you're investigating. Bits and pieces here and there."

He looked from the laptop to her for a second and looked slightly annoyed. "If we weren't putting out the fires those telepaths started, I'd tell you we can't just publish  _bits and pieces_  without knowing the whole story," he grumbled, almost more to himself than anything else.

"Don't you think I know that?" Kate asked, one eyebrow raised. "But like you said — we're fighting the clock and trying to fix what they made you do. It's not ideal."

"I'm still not going to publish anything that's not vetted and accurate," he said, leveling one finger at her.

"This is all primary source material," Kate promised. "A big chunk of it came from one of the doctors in the program himself. He keeps extensive files on his… subjects," she added with a bit of a frown and a shudder.

"And he just  _handed_ it to you?"

"We negotiated for it," Kate replied. She let out a breath and leaned back in her chair. "I'm not a rank amateur, JJ. Even before I took over Bishop Publishing, I was a PI for a while. I know how to fact-check. I'm not gonna BS you. That would be a waste of both of our time, and considering the House is reconvening in a few days — we don't have that time to waste."

"I'll be expecting more as you find it. Not … gathered up months later," JJ said as he cracked open the computer. "You have a password on this thing?"

"Yep." Kate leaned forward with a sparkle in her eyes. "KateWasRightJJWasWrong. No spaces, and every word is capitalized. Even capitalized your J's for you."

JJ glared at her, his fingers pausing over the keyboard. "Juvenile," he muttered out at last.

She grinned brilliantly. "Well, you  _are_ always pointing out how young I am." She waited while he typed in her beautiful password before she leaned back a bit, still grinning. "I would've brought this to you sooner, but you were beating the war drum while the Cuckoos had you."

He almost smirked at that. "Not a bad call, all things considered. I'd rather they didn't know what we have on them until we hit them with it nationally. Don't need prepared statements." He leaned forward, his chin in his hand as he scrolled through the document list, though his eyebrows were high on his forehead. "Thought you said this was just bits and pieces," he muttered when he saw how  _much_ material there was.

She nodded. "It  _is_. Believe it or not, that's the tip of the iceberg."

There was no mistaking both the gleam of excitement and the look of pure shock on his face as he kept scrolling through. "This… this story is going to make headlines for  _months_  just getting through half of this."

"Don't drool on the keyboard, JJ," she said with a teasing smirk, and he glared at her for it. "Why do you think I was talking about a book deal back when you brought it up? This is way more than a newspaper's worth of stuff if you want it all in one place."

But JJ was settling back into his usual glare now. "I'll look through this and decide for myself," he said, waving her off. "For all I know, it's just minutia. I'll let you know if there's enough of a story in these… bits and pieces."

"And I'll just keep bringing you more — and making my own copies. Just to make sure you get all your facts right," Kate said.

JJ fixed her with a  _look_. "This would be the story of most journalists' careers. If you think for a second—"

"Yeah, yeah. Says the man who announced my untimely demise," Kate said.

He glared at her. "Get out of my office. We're wasting time I could be spending reading this. And like you said — we don't have time to waste."

She grinned at him outright as she stood, gave him a jaunty little wave, and all but skipped out.

During the entire exchange, though, JJ hadn't noticed a very tiny blonde young woman slip out of Kate's pocket and settle herself into his desk, nestled in between old newspaper clippings with a book, a phone, and a mission. If anybody from Weapon X came back to try and mess with or silence JJ again, Cassie Lang was on the job.

* * *

It was a few days after Kate's visit to JJ that Bobby found himself once again the first one to the kitchen and grumbling to himself about the lack of prepared coffee. He muttered under his breath about having to learn how to set the stupid timer as he half listened to the news while he always did waking up.

While the coffee was brewing, he raided Jubilee's sugar bombs and sat back, half glaring at the television as the morning recap covered the upcoming session for Congress where the mutant tracking bill was slated to be at the very top of their agenda. "Figures. Got all kinds of human rights violations around the world, affecting thousands — but hey. Let's pick on the small population of people that are trying to help your miserable butts," Bobby grumbled. "Stupid Congress. Stupid election year." He pushed away from the cereal to finally pour himself a cup of coffee and caught himself before he started making faces at the screen when JJ appeared.

"Before we start this morning on the top news stories, I think it's important that I clear the air on something that has made itself painfully clear to me," JJ started out. He looked tired, but with a determined fire in his eyes as he took in a deep breath.

"It's official," Bobby grumbled. "He wakes up in a bad mood. No amount of naps would help him. This is me, not surprised." He tipped the mug back and scowled at nothing in particular as JJ continued on screen.

"On this show and in  _The Bugle_ , I've spoken candidly about several mutants who operated in an organization that existed in the shadows of our government's past. While the validity of those reports is not in question, recently, new information, and my own  _personal_ experience, has put this story in an entirely new light."

Bobby looked up from his Sugar Bombs with a little frown. He hit the record button on the DVR as it became clear that JJ wasn't going straight into attack the ferals mode. Rachel had told him yesterday that things had gone well behind the scenes, but even he hadn't been optimistic enough to think that JJ would  _change_...

JJ took a deep breath before he settled into an even deeper and more serious frown, his voice taking on a more forceful tone without upping his volume. "Until now, what these reports concerning these shadow operatives has failed to take into account is the methods by which  _thos very operatives_ were controlled — methods which, as you'll see on today's program, not only violate the Constitution but violate the conscience of every thinking person." He fixed the camera with a glare. "This organization cannot and should not be allowed to run unchecked — if at all."

"The information in the previous reports was incomplete, and the experts, I've since discovered, were biased to a degree that I find absolutely unacceptable," JJ continued. "And any decisions made in Congress based on the fanatical fervor generated by misinformation should be treated as faulty at best and dangerously irresponsible."

When Scott stepped into the room and said hello, Bobby's coffee cup slipped from his hand and smashed on the floor. "Aw, crap," he muttered as he rushed to clean up the mess. "For a second there, I thought I was hallucinating." He knelt down to freeze the entre mess and pick up the pieces then glanced up at Scott. "Please tell me that I'm hearing what I think I'm hearing."

Scott glanced toward the television, where JJ was continuing on in his determined statement, and both eyebrows shot up as he really listened to what the old reporter was saying.

"I'm not too proud to admit that I was, frankly, used by this same organization that used so many other people — mutants  _and_ non-mutants. So I'm calling on Congress not to let this shadowy sham of an institution steer public policy into panic and pandemonium. When you give a black-ops group like this legitimacy and crush the rights of your citizens under your toes, you can't call yourselves public servants."

"You're hearing what you think you're hearing," Scott said with a pleased smirk.

As JJ was wrapping up his statement, some of the usual fury started to come back into his gaze. "And as for this organization — over the next days, weeks, or whatever amount of time it takes me to expose them, I intend to show the truth of their existence." His expression twisted into an almost manic grin. "No one  _uses_ J. Jonah Jameson and gets away with it."

* * *

The news the ferals had access to was severely filtered. It was little more than cliff notes of what was going on, with no opinion pieces — which, JJ would have been horrified to discover, meant his entire show was fluff in that market.

As a result, they only heard the line item reports, and what they heard had them convinced that any return to Xavier's simply wasn't ever going to happen.

But they had also decided that their daughter's best chance was to hide, and since they had no one to hide her, and no one to fall back on, all they could do was to prepare to find another place to use and keep moving.

So, at the end of January — not two days before the House was supposed to make their vote on the tracking bill — they decided to try a test run to see how well Elin could travel.

They bundled her up and let the fire in the house die out as they headed to K's half-hidden outbuilding that was built into the side of a hill, where inside, there was a pair of snowmobiles. Then, they headed out to another of her little hiding spots that she had tucked away somewhat nearby — thirty miles deeper into the woods and only accessible this time of year, since there was a lot of travelling over the ice.

That cabin was a lot smaller than the house that they'd been using — but it was comfortable and a good place to spend a little bit of time. They started a fire and took the time to feed their little girl — which of course meant she was set to fall asleep, leaving the two of them to discuss their immediate future in relative silence.

"I think she did pretty well," K said as she settled in, leaning on her husband while Elin slept peacefully on the bed upstairs in the loft.

"She did better than I expected," he admitted. "Seemed like she liked it."

"Not like you could expect her to not like travelling — all things considered," K muttered, and he had to agree. With the two of them for parents, and the constant movement within the X-Men as an established 'normal', the little girl would be miserable if she didn't like to travel.

There was a long silence before K had to say what they'd both been trying to avoid for weeks now. "We're not going back, are we?" She said it almost more as a statement than a question, as if she knew already what the answer was.

"I doubt it," he said quietly. "When this law takes effect, all three of us will have targets on our backs. She's got a better shot if we go. Fightin' it the way you and I are used to is just gonna make it worse."

"She misses the kids," K said. "She's a trooper, but she shouldn't grow up alone."

"Hard to make friends when you keep moving," Logan pointed out, to which K simply had to agree.

"Then we'll have to figure out something else," K said with a little shrug that took Logan all of about five seconds to catch up to.

"It would make moving around that much harder," he pointed out, though he was smirking the slightest bit at the suggestion.

"Yes, and no," she said, nodding slowly with her eyes shut and a deep frown in place. "They're looking for a couple. Not a family. Alter our appearance a bit ... drop the blue jeans and flannels ... move on to something a lot more expensive-looking …." She let out a sigh. "I'm thinking about going blonde for a while if you want to make an honest run at it."

He shook his head and kissed back into the cushions of the couch. "Hope you like a beard," he replied with a little smile.

"And a ponytail?" she teased, to which he had to laugh as they settled in to get entirely tangled up with the fire roaring in the woodburner and the snow falling heavily outside, covering their tracks completely.

* * *

Kurt had waited for a couple days after JJ's statement coming out against Weapon X before he decided to stop by K's cottage. He wanted to see what the reaction from the rest of the public would be before he gave his friends false hope over one journalist on their side.

But as JJ started to decry Weapon X and their methods, and as the stories hit the news about what had been going on, there was a shift. It wasn't much — there were still those crying for control of the mutant population. But others were finally starting to question the beat of the war drum.

It was progress, and it was hope, and Kurt wanted to bring that to his friends.

So, with a smile and a few pictures from the twins' second birthday that Annie wanted to send to the Howletts, he appeared in a puff of indigo smoke in the living room of the cottage — but there was no one home.

He didn't panic at first, thinking maybe they had gone outside ... until he realized that there were no tracks of any kind in the snow. No footprints or sign of a motorcycle … or  _anything_  to indicate where they were.

He teleported back inside, popping into each room with ever widening eyes. He half-hoped to find them curled up with Elin and to discover he'd simply missed them, but it was clear they weren't there. The fireplace was cold, and there was no sign that would say where they'd gone either.

The panic finally started to set in, curbed only by the fact that there was no sign of forced entry… though with no real clue as to what had happened, he wasn't sure how comforting that was.

When he had been through the entire house, the surrounding area, and even the roof at least twice and finally had to admit that they weren't there, he teleported straight to where he knew Scott would be — in the booth of the Danger Room putting the younger team through their paces.

Scott turned toward the sound of the  _bamf_ for a second with a slightly surprised look. "I wasn't expecting to hear back from you for…" He trailed off when he saw the panicked expression on Kurt's face. "What's wrong?"

Kurt shook his head, his eyes wide. "They're not there," he said, all his breath coming out with the admission. "I've looked everywhere — they're just  _gone_."

Scott's lips parted into a little 'o' for just a second before he shook his head and reached over to kill the sim that the kids were running — which Kurt noted was another round of MRD training. It seemed when he wasn't training them on fighting Weapon X or their fellow X-Men, he was just running through all the possibilities of anti-mutant issues.

"We've got a list of possible Weapon X facilities back at Hawkeye's place," Scott told Kurt. "If Erik can find them for us, we've got intel on how to raid them from there."

Kurt nodded quickly. "Where is he?"

Scott glanced at the time on one of the screens. "He should still be with the twins. They've been playing with him after classes get out. He can't say no to them."

That was all Kurt needed to know, and in an instant, both men were in the living room, where the twins had Erik in a corner with their finger painting sets as he oohed and ahhed appropriately over their creations. But when Erik looked up to see the looks on both Scott's and Kurt's faces, he very quickly and quietly unfolded himself from the corner to slip over to them.

"Is something wrong?" he asked in a quiet whisper that the twins weren't paying attention to.

Kurt glanced at the twins before he answered just as quietly. "I can't find Logan and K. They're not where I left them."

"Can you find them for us again?" Scott asked. "We'll put a team together to go after them... and one to stay here in case we need to protect against a raid as well." He looked slightly panicked, but it was clear he was more angry than anything else.

"Of course," Erik agreed quickly. "Make your preparations, and I will do what I can."

Scott nodded and rushed off as Kurt teleported to go gather their rescue team.

Natasha had been substituting for Logan's self-defense class, and he retrieved her from outside the Danger Room — she had only just finished showering and slipping into civilian clothes and was on her way back to Clint's place. But when she heard Logan and K were missing, she didn't hesitate to run toward the hangar with a murderous look in her eyes to join the rescue team.

And of course, Kurt knew he couldn't go after Logan without bringing Jubilee, and he popped into the living room, where she was curled up with Sying and Noh. As soon as they heard what was happening, both of them volunteered to come, but Kurt shook his head at Noh. "We need someone here in case they retaliate."

Noh looked a bit disappointed but nodded his understanding and agreement as he gently took his sleeping little boy from Jubilee, who was clearly ready to kick the butts of any bad guys who had dared to lay a hand on her Wolvie.

Those were the only two besides himself and Scott that Scott had asked to form the rescue party, though Kurt did take a second to pop in on Kate at Clint's place and quickly fill her in — if nothing else to make sure she, Clint, and Wade didn't have any raids planned when this was going on.

"I was just headed over to JJ's, but I can totally postpone. Let me come too," she said quickly, but Kurt shook his head.

"Everyone at the mansion wants to come — we can't take all of the X-Men," he said.

"Why not? Seems like we'd just flatten 'em as soon as we got there," she muttered with her arms crossed.

"Because there's no telling how long they've been gone — and if Weapon X comes, or sends them in, we need people at the mansion," Kurt said. "Otherwise, yes, you're absolutely correct,  _liebling_."

She blew out all her breath at once in obvious frustration before she nodded and stood on her toes to kiss him quickly. "Alright, but if you get in trouble,  _call me_."

"In a heartbeat," he promised with a grin that wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as she was used to.

She paused and frowned at his obvious worry for a moment before she grabbed him by the shirt with both hands and kissed him passionately. When she did finally release him, she patted down his shirt with a small smile and then nodded. "Come back soon. I'll drop by the mansion and make sure the kids are okay after I drop off with JJ."

His smile was slightly closer to what she was used to at that as he stole one more quick kiss from her before he teleported back to the hangar, where the rest of the little rescue team was already gathering.

"Everything all set to go?" Scott asked as he glanced over at Kurt.

Kurt nodded as he climbed into the blackbird, with a few of the bamfs alongside him in various states of anger over their missing buddies — those that weren't already there with Natasha and Jubilee, that is.

"Then I guess, Erik — if you could give us a heading, we'll get moving," Scott said.

Erik nodded, his hands extended in front of him as he closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate for a moment — though it seemed to take a lot longer than before.

The entire group waited, half holding their breath. Many of the possible locations were scattered to the far ends of the earth, and while each of them were prepared for a global search if need be, they knew this was the best chance for a straight shot. But … when they were still waiting a few minutes later…

"Would it help if we got in the air first and you gave us a heading? It doesn't have to be specific coordinates; we can narrow it down as we get closer," Scott offered.

But Erik opened his eyes and frowned for a moment before he shook his head and mumbled out a response no one could hear. He shook his head again and this time said, "I've them."

At the less-than-eloquent response from Erik, Natasha's head came up, and she frowned his way, her lips pursed. "You have them or you've lost them or…?"

But when Erik just stammered a bit, clearly trying to form the words, Natasha was on her feet and headed his way. "We need to get him to Celia."

"What's going on, Natasha?" Kurt asked with a frown, though he moved to stand by both of them, ready to teleport them to the medical wing.

"If I had to guess, I'd say he probably had a stroke," she replied. "Pretty sure it's not poison. If it was, he wouldn't be alone."

Kurt and Scott shared a look for a moment — both of concern and frustration — before Kurt teleported both Erik and Natasha to the medical wing, bringing Natasha along so she could explain her suspicions to Celia.

"So how the heck are we supposed to find them now?" Jubilee asked with a look of open panic.

Scott scrubbed a hand over his face for a moment before he let out a breath. "I can ask Clint to send me a list of facilities in operation… It will take longer, but if we start hitting them, they might move Logan and K…. Lorna and Alex are still in space or I'd..." He let out a growl of frustration and slammed a fist sideways against the wall of the blackbird.

The comm broke through the conversation as Rachel's voice echoed in the jet. "I'm going to Cerebro. I may not be able to find the adults too easily, but I can find Elin. If you think that would be good enough to go on."

Scott didn't even bother not trying to sound relieved. "Yes. Thank you, any lead you can give us, Rachel," he said before he turned to Jubilee. "It's going to take a little while," he said with a sigh. "I'll have Rachel tell everyone when she figures it out."

With nothing to do but wait, the two of them headed inside, though Scott made it a point to stop by the medical wing and see how Erik was.

By the time he got there, Celia was finishing up her battery of tests, and she gave him a weary sigh as she turned back to her computer screen to see the scans as they came through. "I think he'll be fine, more or less," she told him. "Though it looks as if this is not the first one."

Scott frowned at that and looked toward Erik for a moment. "Is this — will it be a recurring problem? Is there a way to tell?"

"It likely will be," she said with a nod. "There are medications he can take to try to prevent it — but at his age …"

Scott let out a sigh and nodded his understanding. "Thanks, Celia," he said.

"He'll be fine," she promised. "It's just a bit traumatic while it's happening. You caught it early."

"Thank Natasha for that," Scott said, gesturing to where Natasha was watching the whole thing with a quiet frown. He let out a sigh and turned to head out. "You'll let me know if anything else happens?"

"Of course," she replied with a bit of a nod.

He tipped his head her way and then headed out of the medical wing toward where Cerebro was, the frown settling deep on his features as he cursed the universe's timing on his way to check on Rachel.

When he found her, she had her eyes closed and a little smirk on her face. "I found Elin," she said softly, almost at a whisper.

Scott let out all his breath at once. "Great. Where is she?"

"That's more difficult to pin down right now," Rachel replied as she simply took off the headpiece. "She's asleep. Dreaming."

Again cursing the universe's timing, Scott pressed a hand to the center of his forehead for a moment. "Well ... she's not distressed or scared or…?"

"I really couldn't tell you yet," she said frankly. "She's asleep. Dreaming of all kinds of good things. But if she was drugged … the result would be the same." Rachel frowned at the expression on Scott's face before she shifted to what she hoped was a more reassuring smile. "I'll try again in a little while."

"Alright." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath before he rested a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Rachel. I'm just ... going to call up Hawkeye and see if he's got anything we can work with. If Elin… if she's drugged, I don't want to wait too long."

"I know," she replied. "I'm crossing my fingers that isn't the case."


	3. Where Have You Been?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kurt goes to give Logan a piece of his mind, but ends up trying to keep it together instead.

Waiting was always far easier said than done for most of Xavier's residents. And waiting while they were anxious to hear what had happened with the little Howlett family was not something they were built for. Jubilee kept munching on Twizzlers and couldn't sit in one spot for longer than five minutes, while Kurt's foot was jiggling and his tail was twitching. Natasha had settled into a corner and was perfectly still, but anyone that got within twenty feet of her could see that she was poised to move in an instant. And Scott was pacing.

So when Rachel projected that all was well to the four of them, it was almost like they didn't know what to do with the information. "What do you mean — where are they?" Scott asked with a frown.

"That's what I need Kurt for," Rachel said. "I can see the image, but I don't know where it is."

The other three glanced at Kurt, who frowned and then teleported quickly down to join Rachel. But when he recognized the cottage that Rachel was seeing, he let out a frustrated noise. "But… I have already been there… They were long gone…"

"Well, that's where they are  _now_ ," Rachel replied. "She woke up in Logan's arms."

Kurt let out a sigh of relief before he shifted into simply looking  _mad_. "Those two…" he muttered under his breath before he turned to Rachel. "They're back where they are supposed to be. I'll just be another moment," he said before he simply teleported to the cottage.

As soon as he arrived, in the middle of their kitchen, he found Logan and threw up both of his hands. "You scared me half to death!" he accused his old friend.

"What are you talking about?" Logan asked with a frown as he watched Kurt fume.

"I came by earlier, and you were  _gone_ , Logan. I thought something had happened! I thought…" He threw up his hands again as he paced a small path and then spun to face Logan. "We thought we were going to have to raid Weapon X to get you back!"

"We stepped outside for a few minutes," Logan replied. "I didn't realize we were on full house arrest."

"You were gone far longer than that," Kurt accused him. "The fire was cold, there were no tracks — Logan, I looked everywhere.  _Where were you_?"

"Out."

Kurt's tail switched angrily behind him. "Logan, we thought… how are we supposed to know if you've been taken or if something has happened?"

"Not really your problem," Logan half growled out.

"Isn't it?" Kurt returned. "I promised you I'd get Elin out if you needed help!"

Before it could get more heated, K slipped in between the two men and put a hand on both of their chests. "Okay, hold up," she said, glancing between both of them. "This is not a perfect system." She turned to Kurt and let out a little breath. "We can't stay here forever. We've about run out of time for this spot. That's number one."

Kurt turned to her and nodded once, with a small frown. "Then let me take you to the next location — it will keep them from being able to track you, and it will help the rest of us not to have a heart attack thinking the worst has happened."

She looked to Logan, who took a moment to take a breath before he nodded. "Fine. I don't want to stay here more than a few more days," she told him. "But number two — you can't expect us to just stay in any house forever. And we can't exactly leave a note on the counter 'just in case' because someone else could pick it up,  _ja?_ "

Kurt let out a bit of a breath but nodded. "Then… we will need to set up something else. A signal of some sort."

"And what can you set up that won't be traceable?" She asked. "Can't use a phone. The comm is off unless we need it. Ideas? If they're monitoring you, any contact will give us away."

"I'm not asking for a note or for a phone call, just… some way I can know you're  _safe_. All three of you," he said in a rush.

"That's just not realistic right now," she replied. " _We_  have to trust you guys to get things done. Trust  _us_ and know that if we do cut out and flat disappear, unless you hear chatter on their channels? We're fine."

Kurt looked a bit pained at that. "It's not just that we're worried about them taking you," he said softly. "We want you to be able to come  _back_ too."

They both stared at him for a moment with near identical expressions of what almost passed for confusion.

"That's why I came — I wanted to tell you that we're gaining ground. Jameson — he was under the control of the Cuckoos, and Rachel broke their hold on him." He shook his head. "The man has completely turned around on a crusade against the program and against the bill. It's slowed down the House voting significantly, as there are all sorts of new questions being raised and committees being formed…." He looked at both of them for a moment with a clearly open expression. "You said it — trust us to work through this. We  _are_ working through this. We're making progress. This isn't a permanent solution,  _mein Freunds_."

"We do trust you," Logan said. "But it just so happens that to keep Elin safe, we have to do whatever it takes."

"I understand that — truly. And you know I can help you move to different places in ways they cannot trace."

"As long as it's not an immediate need," K pointed out. "That does happen from time to time."

Kurt looked a bit lost as to what to do about that. "I just… want you to be able to come back."

"That's not on the table right now though," Logan replied. "And if it does go south, it may be permanent anyhow."

"Have a little faith," Kurt said with a soft sort of smile.

"If I didn't, we wouldn't be here waiting for you," Logan countered. "We'd have been gone in the first week."

Kurt let out all his breath and stepped forward to wrap his best friend in a hug. When he did at last step back, he shook his head and looked to K. "Would you like me to take you elsewhere now, or should I come back in a few days?"

"Give us two days," she said. "We were going to wait a little longer for the weather to turn, but—"

"But I am a better way to hide your tracks than the weather," he said with a small smirk.

"Debatable," she teased. "The only one who ever had half a prayer of following me before was Creed — and he's currently indisposed, last I checked."

"Which is why I'm not too worried about you three — or I'd likely be here every day," he teased right back.

"At any rate... When you head back, make sure that the last time they were at the mansion, they didn't lift any of Noh's tech. He made a way to stop teleporting in and out — wouldn't put it past them to try and copy that or try to make a way to track  _you._ "

Kurt's eyes widened, and he very quickly nodded. "Yes, I'll definitely look into that," he promised.

But before Kurt could say anything else, he had to stop what he was doing; Elin had gotten a hold of his tail and was grinning up at him. "Elf. Up."

He couldn't help the smile that broke out over his face as he looped his tail around her to pick her up and lift her to his arms. " _Kluges kleines Mädchen_ ," he whispered out before he kissed the top of her head and then booped her nose.

" _Bl_ _å_  Elf," she replied.

He laughed at that and wrapped her up in a warm hug. "You,  _meine Patentochter_ , are the most wonderful thing I have seen all evening."

She giggled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck to snuggle in, wiggling until she was comfortable and then melting into him with a sigh.

"It's been a long day for her," K said as she crouched at the fireplace to start it up again. "She played hard."

"Did you tire yourself out, little one?" he asked Elin with a teasing smile.

"Shushhh," she told him as she covered his mouth with one little hand.

He chuckled at that and nodded, finding a seat so he could snuggle her a bit better.

"So," Logan said as he took a seat nearby. "Why don't you try to tell me again what you came for?"

Kurt nodded. "Rachel was able to break the Cuckoos' hold on Jameson's mind. That, by the way, is why he's been such an ardent supporter of the program instead of trying to expose them — which is what he's doing now."

"They started mild and tried to go in under the radar," Logan replied. "How'd you figure it out?"

"He came to look over our school when you left — to be sure you really had gone," Kurt said with a frown. "But while he was there, Rachel noticed the difference between the JJ in the safety of our walls and the JJ outside the gates." He shrugged carefully. "She finished kicking the Cuckoos out when she went with Scott to do an interview with the man on his show — you could actually see on live television when he had his moment of clarity and started to come to himself," he added with a bit of a smile.

"That's not gonna last long," Logan said with a frown. "He'll be back to himself before you know it."

"He already is — chasing the story on the black ops agency operating outside the law and the constitution," Kurt said with a smile.

"Yeah? And what is he finding?" Logan asked. "I doubt he'd be able to access anything worth reading."

"No, but I can promise you — his sources are clean this time," Kurt said with a small smirk. "Cassie is hidden in his office keeping an eye out to be sure that Weapon X doesn't try anything again."

Logan narrowed his eyes a bit. "What's he got?"

"The past few days, he's been focused on talking about control and manipulation methods," Kurt said. "It seems he took being manipulated himself a bit personally." He looked over the two of them for a moment. "But really, the biggest change isn't just what he's publishing about the program. He's actively calling for action  _against_ the mutant tracking bill. Swaying opinion as, really, only Jameson can," he added with a bit of a chuckle.

"Why do I get the feeling that it's a good thing I'm not watching this crap go down?" Logan asked with his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he watched Kurt.

Kurt couldn't help but smile. "Maybe it would do you some good. We've had a few X-Men on the program talking about the Wolverine  _they_ know," he teased.

"I don't know that I'll be able to come back then," Logan said. "Nice knowin' you."

"Oh, it wasn't anything bad," Kurt assured him.

"Right. Just more of Kate's BS hug magnet crap, I'm sure."

"She's been very good, actually. She hasn't made a single mention of you hugging anyone," Kurt said.

"Of course  _you'd_ say that," Logan replied.

"She wants you back too, and she knows better than to scare you off that way," Kurt replied easily. "In private, on the other hand…" His eyes twinkled. "I wouldn't be surprised if a few months from now you find that Krissy is asking you for hugs."

"If she even remembers me," Logan countered.

"She's a Wagner," Kurt said, waving his hand. "Even if she forgets you for a moment, it won't take long — and I doubt she'll forget Elin, even young as she is." His tone was light, but his gaze had softened a bit.

"No way to know," Logan said quietly.

Kurt frowned his way before he remembered the pictures Peter had sent him with. "That reminds me — Peter printed some pictures out from the twins' birthday." He pulled the pictures from his pocket — the one of Chance with his little paper heart clenched in his hand on top of the stack. "I wouldn't want you to miss too much, if I can help it. And Chance asked me to say hello to Elin."

Logan let out a little sigh at that. "Kid's cruising for a heartbreak the way this is going."

"Why — do you intend to tell him he can't be friends with her when you get back?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow. "Already trying to keep her from ever even talking to boys?"

" _If_  we get back, I won't do anything like that." Logan gave Kurt a look. "And I'd guess you'll be just as bad or worse about that than I will."

"Oh, I'm sure," Kurt said, though he was still holding Logan's gaze. "And you've seen what a flirt Krissy is. She snuggles everyone she meets — I  _will_ need your help when she's older."

"Here's hopin'," Logan said — for lack of a better argument, and not really wanting to argue the finer points with his best friend with what little time they had.

"Oh — and Leslie Ann wanted to know what your favorite vegetable is, K," Kurt said, with a small laugh. "She is trying to refine her powers by growing specific plants, and she has been asking everyone."

"Well, what has everyone else said?" K asked. "I don't want to give her anything she's been doubled up on already."

"Most people have said what you'd expect — carrots and squashes and so on. Bobby insisted his favorite was cocoa beans so she could make chocolate."

"Oh, well. I thought that was a fruit?" K replied.

"Don't tell that to Bobby," Kurt laughed.

"Maybe, just to give her something different and fun to look at, tell her … I like to look at rutabagas," K replied. "She's probably never heard of them."

Kurt grinned and nodded. "I'll be sure to tell her that. But it may be a while before you see a rutabaga." He laughed. "Right now, she can only seem to grow flowers and, yesterday, she managed a small tomato."

"Well, if she wants fruits too, she can  _try_ to grow lingonberries."

"I'll tell her that as well," Kurt nodded, still grinning.

"Better than that — when you come to get us out of here, I'll give you a start on them. The next place has them covering the ground around the house."

Kurt broke into a wide smile and nodded. "She'll be thrilled."

"Yeah? Wait until she tries," K warned. "They're pretty fussy. Alpine mountain things."

"She doesn't seem to mind a challenge," Kurt assured her. "She and the other girls have been indoors mostly anyway." He looked quickly at the two of them and tried to cover. "They're working on their powers."

"And shaken from the bomb," Logan added. "They should be anyhow."

"They are rather shaken," Kurt admitted. "They miss the riding classes, though. And both the students and staff miss history — though attending a history class taught by Magneto is… illuminating at times."

"I'm sure most of his stuff probably highlights the camps," Logan said with a shake of his head before he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Those were no fun."

"Yes, the stories he shared — he said they were some of the milder ones," Kurt said quietly.

"Very likely. I haven't shared my time at the camp with the kids. Not exactly the same outlook as Magneto's. Considering," Logan said with a little smirk that was more sorrowful than anything.

"And Natasha has taken over your self-defense class," Kurt said.

"Good," Logan said. "I'm glad to hear you have it all covered, more or less."

"She says if you don't come back soon, she might kill all your students," Kurt advised him with as solemn of a look as he could manage.

"I say that every week," Logan said with a shrug. "Call it a final exam. Strictly pass-fail."

"Yes, but she may move on to poisons if she's feeling creative. Clint told me she did that to him when they were dating. It seems to be his favorite story to tell when she annoys him."

"I'm sure he was irritating her — and he didn't die, so what's he bitching about?"

"Right now? Not seeing his new wife as often as he'd like," Kurt replied. "She's been at the school teaching your classes, and he's been in Bed Stuy with his own responsibilities… how  _do_ you expect to win the bet on how long it will take us to add another Barton to the mix?" Kurt teased.

"The dog hardly counts as a responsibility," Logan said. "And I bet on  _her._  He'll do whatever the hell she tells him to."

"Then I'm afraid you'll lose the bet. She seems to care more about getting you back than anything else at the moment."

Logan shook his head solemnly. "Nope," he said. "She's sneakier than you're giving her credit for."

"And you're not giving her enough credit for how much she's thrown herself into her latest work," Kurt replied. "Or how much Clint is busy with his. He's been rekindling the teamup with Kate recently — and seeing plenty of Krissy." He smirked. "Remember, I bet on  _him_."

"Yeah, what are those two working on?" Logan asked. "I thought the tracksuits backed off after they saw him handing an alien their ass."

"They've been out with Deadpool, believe it or not. For some reason, that seems to… work," Kurt said, shaking his head.

"What the hell are they doing with that lunatic?" Logan asked, frowning with a confused expression on his features.

"Trust me, Wolverine — you don't want to know what Wade is up to." Kurt shook his head and sighed.

"You're right," Logan agreed. "But letting him do his own thing for too long never works out well either."

Kurt let out a breath and leaned forward. "I really should get back to the others. When I left, they were still worried." He paused and looked at the little girl still snuggled into his shoulder. "Would you mind if I got some pictures of Elin? For Chance? And for everyone else to see how much she's grown?"

"Go ahead," Logan said. "She's your God-daughter."

Kurt beamed and nodded before he very carefully set Elin down and crouched down beside her. "Can you say hello to Chance and everyone back home?"

Elin stood upright and waved by opening and closing her little hand, held straight out in front of her. "Hi Chance," she said clearly and softly.

Kurt grinned at her as he caught the wave and hello on video and then took another few pictures before he booped her nose. "Thank you, Elin."

"Kiss."

He looked up at Logan and K in surprise before he shook his head and swept her up in a hug and kissed her forehead with his eyes closed against the sudden rush of emotion at having to leave again.

"You're going to have to learn to get that out of the way before it's time to go," K advised. "Or this kid is going to wreck you."

"I don't mind," Kurt said, honestly, before he pressed another quick kiss to Elin's head. "I'll be back soon," he promised all three of them. "See you in two days."

"We'll be here," Logan said though he couldn't help but smirk at him. "Probably."

"For the sake of my sanity, you'd better be," Kurt said, only half teasing before he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

…

From German (or Swedish, respectively):

 _Kluges kleines Mädchen -_ clever little girl

 _Bl_ _å -_ blue (Swedish)

 _meine Patentochter -_ my Goddaughter


	4. Mr. Summers Goes To Washington

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title says, Scott is trying out his powers of persuasion and reason on a larger scale. It's been ages since he's had to deal with villains like this!

In Clint's apartment in Bed Stuy, the TV was on, as usual, playing the latest news while everyone in the apartment was going through the latest intel. Both Hawkeyes and Deadpool had just gotten back from another run, and while they hadn't gotten much in the way of files, they had accumulated a few injuries — which meant the Hawks were both in bandages again.

Natasha was sitting with Clint on the couch in front of his TV as she helped him re-wrap the bandages around his wrist, while the news was playing the latest in the political wrap-up.

"It's been two weeks since Congress reconvened, and still, progress on the mutant tracking bill has completely stalled in committee. While the committee chair blamed the delay on a debate over an amendment that would prevent access to the tracking data for private organizations outside of the government, Senator Robbins released a statement this morning accusing mutants of being somehow behind the delay."

"This is just pandering," Robbins said in the clip they played of his press conference. "The only reason this hasn't passed is that six representatives in one  _single_ committee are too scared to take a stand for what's right because of the recent media smear campaign. These were people who were fully behind my bill until the pressure was on — but what can you expect from a bunch of spineless establishment politicians?"

Clint snorted at the television. "It's like watching Gerry throw a tantrum."

"Only Gerry is more mature about it," Natasha corrected him with a smirk that had Clint grinning at her outright and kissing her cheek just to do it.

The news switched over to coverage of the weather from there, especially with a pretty good winter storm expected in a few days, and Clint turned the volume down as he turned to Natasha with a little grin. "Sounds like we might get snowed in," he teased.

"I'm Russian," she said with a little smirk. "This? Is nothing."

"That's too bad," he said with a shrug. "I have plenty of coffee and other ways to keep warm."

"Oooh, yeah, we should go now," Wade said from where he had his feet propped up on the table while he read through some files. "Just need to put up some mood-setting candles … maybe leave a bottle of wine conspicuously on the table … drag the dog with us so he's not scarred….you know. Because every minute watching that is like seven dog minutes. Then we just... put on the Barry White and let nature take its course."

Kate laughed at that and leaned over to ruffle Lucky's ears. "What do you say, Lucky, wanna go for a walk?" she asked, then had to laugh when not only did Lucky start to wag his tail excitedly — but Krissy, who was playing on the floor with Kurt and trying very hard to see everything all at once, saw Lucky's tail and immediately burst into giggles as she tried to do the same thing.

But before Kate could get Lucky's leash, chaos very quickly broke out when the window shattered as a device of some kind detonated an EMP. The lights all went out as well as the TV — and Clint's hearing aid.

It took everyone a second to adjust to the sudden darkness, but even disoriented, there was no mistaking the fact that there were soldiers bursting in from the outside windows, and Clint could smell the brimstone that meant Kurt had teleported off with Krissy even if he couldn't hear the high-pitched shout of "Kurt, get her out of here!" that Kate was repeating as the soldiers came in.

The darkness didn't last long, though; shortly afterward, the soldiers threw in flashbangs, which had not only Clint but everyone else unable to hear a thing — or to see either.

Natasha and Clint had at least some inkling of what was happening when the EMP had gone off, so they'd tried to do what they could to cover their eyes (and ears in Natasha's case). So they were the first to start trying to give it back to these guys who had shown up to ruin their day.

Kate was pretty well blinded though, and she was just about ready to take on anybody who got too close to her, fighting blind but dirty. She could feel someone come up behind her and spun to put her knee in the guy's gut. She followed up with an uppercut that sent him reeling, though she realized when she heard the shout — almost through fuzzy cotton balls, but loud and definitely saying "Katie-bug" — that it was Wade she was wailing on.

"Oh! Crap! Sorry!" she shouted, not quite able to hear yet, so definitely louder than normal.

"It's fine!" Wade shouted back, though she could see now that he had his mask rolled up a bit — he always did that when he knew Clint needed the help with lip-reading. "Good to see your training is sticking  _so_ incredibly well. Ow."

She grinned sheepishly before she went for her bow to dive in with Natasha and Clint, who were well on their way to making the soldiers' lives as miserable as they'd tried to make theirs. Natasha had electrocuted two of them at once and then threw one over her shoulder into a soldier that looked like he was trying to sneak up behind Clint.

Clint, meanwhile, was shooting arrows faster than the others could keep track of — except Kate, who was grinning at her old mentor as she took out her sword instead when the soldiers were getting a little too close for comfort.

"Oh, it's official, Hawkeye. You're way too much like me. Swords. Really. Just tell me you're not planning on doing a stint as a ninja next," Clint teased.

"Not a chance!" she shouted his way, but he only grinned brilliantly at her.

"Can't hear ya, Hawkeye. Gonna have to assume you said you  _were_ planning to steal all my codenames." He chuckled to himself. "Can't see you pulling off 'Golden Archer', though."

"You're an idiot!" she called back to him as she sidestepped a soldier and ran the man through.

"Why yes, I am awesome. Thanks for pointing that out, Hawkeye."

Wade dove in between the two hawks — knocking down a mountain of boxes that they'd already been through on his way to tackle three soldiers that were trying to sneak around the boxes and jump Kate. "Maybe we should make a game out of this, huh? Whaddaya think, Better Hawkeye? I bet we can outdo the newlyweds, seeing as they only have their mind on one thing."

"And seeing as Kurt's not here…" Kate said, grinning his way.

"We've got this in the BAG!"

She shot him a thumbs up before she spun to run her sword through another soldier that looked like he was trying to sneak up on her while she was bantering with Wade. "I'll try to be more Kurt-like to make up for him being gone," she offered as she spun the sword in her hand with a little flourish that would have made her drama teaching husband proud.

He made an excited noise as he threw an elbow into one of the soldier's faces. "Oh, that was good!" he called out. "Let me try too!" With that, he started jumping from one little group of soldiers to the next, shouting 'bamf' at them before he headbutted or attacked them in an entirely non-Nightcrawler way.

"You've got your lines memorized, but the stage direction needs help," she giggled.

He paused mid-battle and turned to her with his head tipped to the side. "Alright yeah, I hear you … but what's my  _motivation_?"

"Your motivation?" She grinned and gestured to the soldiers — most of whom, it seemed, simply had not been prepared to try and fight both Hawkeyes  _and_ the Black Widow  _and_  Deadpool. "Your motivation is that these guys are really big jerks, and they need to meet the business end of a sword."

"Sounds like prime motivation to me," Wade said with a shrug before he drew both katanas and started twirling them both, singing ' _Walking on Sunshine'_ as loud as he could.

"Do you always encourage him like this?" Natasha called over to Kate as she tossed a soldier out of one of the shattered windows.

"It's way easier if you just run with it," Kate pointed out. "As long as it's not  _too_ weird, hey, I'll play. Usually means the bad guys get dealt with faster, too."

Natasha smirked and shook her head before she looked to Clint, and the two of them shared a nod before, without a word spoken between them, she vaulted over his head and spun in a kick that knocked two soldiers back, then dropped flat as Clint plugged both of them with arrows. She popped back up to shoot her sidearm over his shoulder into another soldier, and he grinned and kissed her cheek before the two of them went right back to fighting.

Finally, the soldiers had all either been dealt with or had retreated, though Natasha snagged one on his way out and only paused to tell Clint to keep any apartment residents off the roof before she took the soldier with her to find out why these guys thought it was okay to target her husband.

Which left both Hawkeyes with Deadpool and the mess that the fight had made of the place. Boxes and papers were scattered everywhere ... there was blood and mess on top of it all… Clint sighed.

"Guess we gotta find a new headquarters, guys," Clint said as he looked over the war zone and tried to figure out where to start to pull it back together. He decided pulling arrows out to reuse them was the best way to go after a second's thought — after he fished his spare aids out of the back room — and he got to work as Kate cleaned and then sheathed her sword as well.

"Lucky for us, I think they were expecting us to be alone," she told Clint, who nodded.

"My place is even less organized than Clint's," Wade said. "But … let me tell you … no one will go there looking for anything important."

Kate and Clint shared a look before Kate made a face. "Yeah… last time we were at your place? Freaked me out. Sorry. Maybe let's figure something else out."

"I hear ya, I hear ya," Wade said, nodding his head.

"Wonder if Tony's willing to let us borrow the bunker we stayed in during the invasion," Kate muttered. "That was a pretty solid hiding place. I mean ... we've got all this stuff on backup, but the new stuff… we gotta keep that safe once we get it."

"The only problem?  _Is that guy_." Wade was just nodding his head to himself.

"I'll talk to Tony," Kate assured him. "It'd be easier if K was around, because she can talk him into anything... but he likes me well enough."

"For maximum efficiency," Wade said over her shoulder in a distinctly nature show host voice. "One would be wise to employ the fantastic mystical talents of the lovely … Black Widow."

Clint snorted to himself. "Yeah, Stark'll do whatever she tells him to. Soon as she's done on the roof, we'll send her after Tony. Might not even change her clothes, just show up post-interrogation and demand a favor."

"He's got an unhealthy attraction to dangerous women, you know that?" Wade said.

"He does. And it's a problem we share," Clint said with a wide grin.

"What's that? Oh, I hadn't heard ... you … you're dating who? NO? You're MARRIED? OH MY GOSH!" Wade said, going through his fake surprise routine, complete with hands clasped to both sides of his face.

"I know, I still can't believe it myself," Clint said, totally straight faced until he broke into another grin.

"It's good she made you an honest woman now," Wade said, looking at Clint. "You're starting to show."

Clint shook his head at Wade. "Wrong Hawkeye — and four months late. Have you met Krissy yet? She's darling."

"Are you sure I'm late?" Wade said. "Her sweet little big-bamf is Catholic after all." He was elbowing Kate as he said it. "And you know what that means, right? Right?" He grinned her way.

Kate rolled her eyes at Wade and pushed him away from her slightly. "Wade…"

"He loves babies."

"Wade, I  _just_ got back in the game. Don't jinx me." She shook her head and then reached into her pocket for her phone. "Besides, Kurt's got plenty of kids to play with. You know Logan asked him to be godfather to their little girl, right? She's darling too, and he goes all gooey when he visits them."

"No … I did not know that .. I was hoping to hear it would be Cyclops. Kind of a whole full circle kind of thing, you know?" He snatched the phone from her so he could make all kinds of obnoxious oohs and awws over Elin before he sent himself the picture.

"Why would he pick… no, it's Kurt," Kate said, shaking her head. "And she calls him Elf, and it's literally breaking his heart that he can't see her every day, so we really should focus on the task at hand and get this all moved somewhere that those jerks won't come back to."

"She's got her daddy's eyes," Wade said, still wrapped up in Elin's picture and clearly not quite ready to let the conversation shift.

"Yep. But she looks just like her mom in every other way, really," Kate said, shaking her head at him and unable to keep the affection out of her tone anyway.

"Gonna be a heartbreaker," Wade said, smiling like a proud uncle.

"Oh she already is," Kate assured him with a wide smile. "It's  _horrible_."

"Yeah, Gerry keeps telling me Chance misses Elin something awful," Clint said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, takes after mom," Wade said, nodding sagely. "Got one just dying to see her. And a Summerseses to boot. Won't return his calls, I'm sure — family pride to be had and whatnot."

"Oh she says hi ... you know. Sorta kinda. In the way a baby in hiding can say hi," Kate laughed.

Before Wade could ask anything more, though, Natasha reappeared in the doorway, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed for a moment. "It looks like they got tired of your little raids and decided to put a stop to it. Apparently, having their crimes broadcasted every day isn't their cup of tea," she said simply. "They were expecting you and Kate. Alone." She smirked the slightest bit. "Apparently, he hasn't heard that Clint is no longer a bachelor."

"Don't know how that's possible, the way you've been openly flirting with her everywhere you go," Kate teased Clint.

"Hey, she married me. If she didn't want me to flirt with her, she wouldn't've done that," Clint pointed out.

"I did it to myself," Natasha agreed, shaking her head with pretended resignation, though her eyes were sparkling.

"Those guys must be in the divorce pool," Wade said thoughtfully. "Not the  _other one_."

"There's a divorce pool?" Clint asked, wrinkling his nose.

"I'm insulted," Natasha said, shaking her head. "I never make mistakes like that."

"Well there's one going for everyone, really. Kind of a skeptical cranky, angry-at-life vibe to it."

"Is there one for me and Kurt?" Kate asked, the disbelief obvious in her voice.

"Noooooo," he said theatrically. "You married a Catholic. There is  _no_  divorce pool for you two. Besides. This … this is a romance to span the multiverse and make them all stare in slack-jawed wonder at the perfection of this divine union," he finished, in a perfectly reasonable tone, nodding as if this was clearly common knowledge.

"O-kay," Kate said slowly, shaking her head. "Well ... at least there's that."

"But there's one for  _me_?" Natasha looked completely annoyed.

"There's still a healthy number that think some kind of horrible calamity is going to hit K and kill her, but … takers on that pool keep dropping off everytime she does something like … you know …" Wade faded out. "Killing Ronan the Accuser on live TV."

"What's the other pool?" Clint asked, trying to change the subject from the invasion.

"Awwww, no," Wade said, wagging his finger at him. "You don't get to know, or you'll blow the curve."

"Then tell  _me_ ," Natasha said with a smirk that didn't quite match the raised-eyebrow look she was giving him. "So I can tell you whether or not to shut it down. Clearly, some of these are wrong. Thinking  _I_ would make a mistake in marrying anyone."

"Those that are betting in  _this_ pool aren't betting in the other one," Wade said. "And … no. Logan said I can't tell you, or he'll do bad things to me."

That actually got a bit of a smile out of Natasha. "Oh, so he's betting in this pool, is he?" she asked with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Yep," Wade said, nodding his head. "Put a big chunk down on  _you,_  too."

"That's because he knows what he's doing," Natasha said as she went to the sink to wash some of the blood from her hands and face.

"Always put your money on Nat," Clint chimed in. "Doesn't matter what for — always bet on Nat."

But Wade giggled at the two of them and refused to expand as to why.

"Oh, hey, speaking of Nat," Kate said as she turned her attention to more serious matters. "Do you think you could talk to Tony about using that old bunker of his again? Clearly, we can't keep our headquarters here anymore."

"Clearly," Natasha agreed with a light laugh. "I'll call him up. You three start packing so we can be ready to go as soon as I'm done." With that, she smirked at all of them and ducked back outside, already pulling out her cell phone as she went.

* * *

"Thank you for comin' out all this way," Representative Mindy Cleary said, offering her hand to Scott and Storm in turn to shake as she waved them into her office. She was one of the few representatives that had been vocally against the tracking bill since its inception, and with the House vote coming up, she had reached out to the institute with a request — she wanted to meet with the X-Men herself to get their perspective on the matter before the rest of the House heard Scott address the congressional body at large.

The tall, auburn-haired woman was so far more welcoming than either Scott or Storm were used to experiencing when they came to the Hill, so they were a little on their guard, if they were honest. But she had been such a vocal defender of their cause that they felt they needed to hear her out — and give her the tools she needed to continue the fight.

Cleary smiled at both of them. "I know it can't be easy for y'all right now comin' out for much of anythin' the way these fools are actin'."

"Not at all," Storm assured her. "We were honored to be invited to speak with you."

Cleary motioned them into chairs and offered them both Cokes before she sat in her own chair and let out a sigh. "It's gonna be a close vote. I can't lie to you. That Senator Robbins hasn't let up on anyone who says they're votin' nay. You wouldn't  _believe_ the calls I'm gettin'."

"Yes, we've seen him on the news," Storm said softly.

"He's a right pain, and anybody who works 'round here hates him — they're just scared of 'im," she said, waving her hand.

"We appreciate your support," Scott said. "I really can't tell you how far your backing us has gone. Not only for keeping a reasonable outlook in the news, but for morale at the school."

She shook her head. "Well, we'll just see how things go when you address my fellow representatives."

"I'll be honest," Scott told her. "Public speaking isn't really my forte."

"Well, I saw you talk down J. Jonah Jameson," she said with a little laugh. "You've got to have a little skill."

"That ... was kind of a stroke of luck," Scott admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sure it was. We'll see how lucky you are later." She grinned at them brightly. "Any little bit of luck will help, anyway. I know a couple of friends on the fence who're just lookin' for an excuse to vote nay. I'm hopin' you'll give it to 'em."

"I'll do my best," Scott promised.

"That's all we can ask for," Cleary said. She leaned back and tipped her head the slightest bit. "Just ... tell me to my face. I'm not making a mistake, backin' the bad guys here? I know what Robbins and his ilk are sayin' 'bout you, but I want to know for myself."

"Ma'am, I've been fighting my whole life to ensure that mutants aren't rounded up and exterminated like some kind of pest," Scott said earnestly. "We only want the same chance everyone else has to live our lives and make the world a little bit better. For everyone. I was taught that co-existence was the only route worth fighting for, and I believe it."

She watched him for a long moment and then broke into a soft smile. "Honest. I like it. Alright, I believe you. Nice to see some people still stick to their guns." She tipped her head at both of them. "Just get ready for some pretty nasty questions. I know some o' those old men runnin' the questions for your testimony, and they ain't on your side in the least."

"Believe it or not, I've gotten more experience with those against me than those that back me," Scott said with a bit of a self-deprecating tone.

"Don't sound like you know too many with any lick of sense, then," she laughed. "But welcome to the Hill."

"Just a lot of people that think they can get in your face," Scott said.

"Honey, I'm a woman in this Good Ol' Boy's club. I know how it goes." She waved toward the door with a smile. "Thanks for speakin' with me before everyone else. I admit, I was worried I was backin' the wrong horse. Hard to tell which way's up lately." She winked at Storm. "But so you know — I probably won't be 'round to chat after the testimony. Got some behind the scenes-in' to do. Battle's not won yet."

Cleary walked with them until it was time to take their seats, and then she gave both of them a little smile and a wink as she headed for hers, leaving both Scott and Storm a little shocked by how warm she had been. Before they could get started, though, Storm was sure to pull Scott aside and into a quick, warm hug.

"I know you have this," she told him, and Scott couldn't help but smile at her for the encouragement.

The committee chair introduced Scott with a quick rundown of who he was and what he was here to talk about — though it didn't escape Scott's notice that instead of "leader of the X-Men," he was "leader of the alleged terrorist group," along with a few other things that Scott was sure meant this guy didn't care for him or mutants in the least.

"Mr. Summers, your statement on the mutant tracking bill, please," said another member of the committee when the chair was finished. "And then we'll open it up for questions."

Scott took a deep breath and then nodded quietly to himself. "I'm no politician or constitutional scholar, so I won't pretend to be an expert in that field and waste your time trying to argue the constitutionality of the bill, or the basic rights it tramples, or the frankly alarming precedent it sets. You asked me here because I'm an X-Man. And as an X-Man, I have sworn to protect life — human, mutant, and otherwise. I made it a personal goal to work for a peaceful world for  _all_  of us. I know it might sound high-minded and maybe a little naive, but that's the ideal world we're working toward, and an ideal I've dedicated myself to from the time I was seventeen years old. We can't exist side-by-side, as equals, with anyone that would be willing to subject part of the population to what you're asking us to let you do." He frowned and nodded once again. "All anyone has ever wanted was to be treated like the people that we are. Not superior or inferior in any way. But as equals. That's not much to ask — or maybe it is, considering this latest bill."

* * *

At the mansion, almost everyone — students and staff alike — were near a screen to keep track of the news. After Scott's testimony, the House was expected to vote any day now... and besides that, they wanted to see how their fearless leader was holding up.

Chance and Charlie were disappointed that they couldn't get Leslie Ann to pay them much attention when she was wrapped up with the other students by a TV, but they found a willing playmate in Erik, who didn't seem to mind at all when they asked him to "do the zoomy" — which meant they wanted to fly around on metal a few inches off the ground. Of course, Erik was keeping half an eye on the proceedings as well, the proud smile obvious to anyone who looked his way as he watched Scott field questions like a pro.

"Watchnin Daddy?" Charlie asked when she noticed where Erik's attention was, her big, brown eyes wide.

"Daddy on TV," Chance agreed with her, nodding fervently and puffing out his little chest.

Erik simply nodded at that. "He's doing well," he said, and the twins both grinned at that before returning to their "zoomy" game.

The questions Scott was handling came in hard and fast, and the panel that was asking them didn't give him a moment to think over his answers or hesitate. To Scott's credit, he handled it perfectly well — or as well as a non-professional could have. He rarely paused, and when he did, he managed to make it look almost as if it was simply because he was between breaths when the question ended.

He kept his cool, stayed professional, and when it was over with, the panel members seemed either calmly consigned to the way it had gone down — or flat ticked off at not riling him up and getting footage they could use that fit their "dangerous mutants" profile.

When Scott stepped out of the building and into the collection of press with their cameras clicking madly and microphones shoved in his face, he still managed to keep his composure and took control of the situation, with an off-the-cuff statement that summed up his viewpoint beautifully before he and Storm simply excused themselves from the press and moved along.

And as soon as the news footage switched away from Scott and to the anchors in the studio, Charlie looked at Erik. "No more Daddy on TV?"

"I'm sure your father will be back on television soon enough," Erik said.

"Daddy do good?" she asked, climbing off of her floating saucer and into his lap.

"He did beautifully," Erik told her with a proud smile.

"Good." She beamed up at him and nodded her head seriously. "Mommy worried."

"She didn't need to worry about him. No one here doubted him for a moment," Erik said.

"So ... Wogan come home?" she asked.

Erik paused for a moment, and his eyebrows went nearly into his hairline as he considered her answer. "You don't miss a thing, do you, young Charlie?"

She giggled at him. "Daddy miss Wogan."

"I'm afraid I don't know if this will let him come back or not," Erik said honestly, though he kept his tone gentle. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"No more waitnin," Chance complained loudly from where he was barely balanced on the edge of his saucer — and Erik was sure to curl the edge up slightly so Chance wouldn't topple over.

Charlie rolled her eyes at her brother and then looked at Erik. "Tance miss Ewin."

"Yes," Erik said leaning closer and lowering his voice to just over a whisper. "He showed me the video that Nightcrawler brought back."

She giggled and nodded. "Alllllll the time," she told him in her best attempt at a whisper.

He smiled at her crookedly and pulled her into a one armed hug. "Then I suppose we should hope that she can come home soon," he said. "In the meantime, what would you like to play?"

Charlie beamed up at him. "More zoomy?"

"Of course," Erik had to laugh before he let Charlie climb down and resume her flying games with her brother.


	5. Out Of The Fire, Back Into The Frying Pan

The deliberations in Congress took longer than expected, and it was nearly Valentine's Day before they were ready to vote — and the timing couldn't have been better for JJ.

He was all but  _smiling_ as he went over his notes for that morning's broadcasts, which had more than a few of his staff members a bit concerned (though if they'd known that Cassie was still watching him and could verify that he was not, in fact, being mind controlled, they needn't have worried).

It had taken him this long to verify his information, because he was  _going_ to get this right, so it really was just good timing for him that he'd gotten everything he needed barely in time for the day before the vote was scheduled.

The lights came up, and JJ settled into his trademark smirk as he looked into the camera and shuffled his papers. "Today's top story — and breaking news — concerns Senator Robbins of Nevada, the man who has been the most vocal supporter of the mutant tracking legislation since its inception. But this reporter has found that since his election, the senator has been on the payroll of an organization known to many by the name of 'Weapon X'." He paused for a moment, the smirk settling into an honest-to-God smug smile. "With this new information in mind, his support for the mutant tracking bill suddenly makes sense in an  _economic_ light. How long has he been taking money from this black-ops organization? We'll investigate this further during today's panel."

And back at the mansion, still only half-awake and trying to get the settings right on the first cup of coffee — he still couldn't get it the way K could make it — Bobby dropped the remote he was holding and dropped his jaw as well.

 _Rachel!_ he practically shouted in his head toward Rachel, though when he realized she was still asleep and not quite up to confirming for him if he was going insane or not, he switched gears:

"Sco-o-ott!" Bobby half-shouted, headed for the door — after he was sure to hit 'record' on the DVR.

A few moments later, Bobby had all but pulled Scott into the kitchen to see the rest of JJ's broadcast — and by the time the half-hour opinion show was over, half the mansion was crowded into the kitchen, too. Nobody was eating breakfast, either — but most of them were halfway celebrating, barely holding back the full relieved celebration until the vote was officially over.

Rachel even came in not long after Scott arrived — and immediately smacked Bobby in the back of the head when she arrived.  _That's for waking me up._

Bobby rubbed the back of his head and gave her a sheepish smile. "It… was important?"

Rachel let out a sigh and turned toward the television, though when she saw what JJ was putting out, the annoyed look turned into more of a smile. "Alright," she said slowly. "You're off the hook…  _for now_."

"I'm pretty sure you gave me a concussion," Bobby grumbled, still rubbing the back of his head.

"You'll live."

 _I'd recover fast if you kiss it better,_ he teased.

Rachel stopped and raised both eyebrows high before a smirk passed across her expression… and she reached over to smack him in the back of the head again. "Oops."

"Mean."

"You'll live."

Bobby shook his head at her, though he couldn't help but grin anyway — he was in such a good mood watching this Robbins creep who had been all but calling for roundups of mutants across the country get totally annihilated on live TV.

By the time the morning news shows picked it up, reporters were mobbing Robbins and his staff with questions about his involvement in Weapon X, especially in light of the things JJ had been bringing up every day on his show to discredit the organization as a whole and to show that they were in violation of oh, so many ethics codes of conduct.

And the reporters were eating it up.

"Senator Robbins, how do you justify taking money from an organization that is proven to use torture?"

"Senator Robbins, what do you say to accusations that this secret organization funded your campaign?"

"Senator Robbins, what can you tell your fellow congressmen who are saying they can't vote for any bill with your name on it?"

It was a glorious trainwreck for the senator, who clearly hadn't expected the attack. At the same time JJ's piece had aired, he had been doing a different interview to gloat over the impending passage of the mutant tracking bill, and now, it seemed, everyone on Capitol Hill couldn't distance themselves from his bill quickly enough.

The entire day went on like that — with Robbins being roasted alive and representatives suddenly realizing that they never liked the bill in the first place. A very smug-looking Cleary ran the circuit of a few news shows as well, talking about how unsurprised she was to find out that Robbins and his crusade were both dirty.

And since Annie was in a  _fine_  mood, even though Valentine's Day wasn't until tomorrow, everyone in the mansion could have had at least three cupcakes apiece by the time she was done celebrating — and anyone who came into the kitchen was greeted by a happily singing Annie and a flour-covered hug.

Several of the older X-Men were just waiting until the official vote was over to join in the celebrating, but the students, at least, seemed to pick up on the relaxed mood and the way things were going and were in high spirits, even starting up an impromptu snowball fight that ended up being Bobby and Peter versus half the student body — with Rachel somehow being dragged into it as the scorekeeper.

So the next morning, those who hadn't already started to celebrate were cautiously optimistic as they kept half an eye on the news. The voting didn't start until around noon, but once it did, it went quickly, as it seemed the House members were as sick of this bill as everyone else was.

Surprisingly, even with the huge backlash that had been generated in the wake of the Robbins scandal, the margin was still slim — decided by seven votes. But the bill failed, and when the vote tally was announced, Annie flat tackled Scott out of his chair and kissed the sense out of him.

"Happy Valentines, sweetheart," Annie said with a grin.

"Happy Valentines Day," he replied, matching her grin as he finally managed to get back up before he surprised her and picked her up in a bridal-style carry to get a little more involved in the kiss — to massive applause all around.

With the vote results in and everyone able to relax a bit more, the other couples in residence were able to make their own plans as well to mark the holiday. Noh was taking Jubilee dancing, and Kate had plans with Kurt once he got back from checking in on Logan and K to tell them the great news.

But before Kurt could get away, he was stopped by two sets of very tiny hands pulling on his sleeve to get his attention, and he looked down to see Chance looking uncharacteristically shy as Charlie was all but pushing him forward. He had a red and pink heart in his hands that he showed Kurt with a very proud smile. "I maked it," he explained. "For Ewin."

"It's beautiful," Kurt told him with a little smile. "I'm sure she'll love it."

He grinned and nodded, and Charlie giggled at him. "Bwing back pictures," she told Kurt sternly, one little finger leveled at him so he could be sure that she was very serious. "Tance needs dem."

"He's not the only one," Kurt told her before he booped her nose. "I'll bring back lots of pictures. I promise."

"Good," she said with a giggle before she motioned for him to come closer so that she could give him a kiss on the nose. "Happy Vantimes!"

"Happy Valentines to you too, sweet girl," Kurt said with a grin.

"It's his favorite holiday," Kate said, leaning over Kurt's shoulder to grin at both of the twins.

"You gotta kiss her," Chance told Kurt, very seriously. "Cuz you wike her."

"You're absolutely right, young man," Kurt said with a grin before he pulled Kate close and gave her an audience-appropriate kiss.

Kate giggled and gave Kurt a little kiss on the cheek before she peeked at the Valentine that Chance had made for Elin. "That's very pretty, Chance. Did your mom help you make it?"

Chance giggled and nodded. "It's for Ewin."

"Well, Kurt's going to take it to Elin for you." Kate kissed Kurt's cheek and then picked up little Chance to put him on her shoulders. "Come on — let's go see if Bobby and Pete have picked a snowball fight with someone else."

Scott had to smile to himself as he watched Kate get the twins decked out to go outside — with both of them jumping in place as she zipped them up and tried to make sure they both had their mittens and hats on. But almost as soon as the door closed, a new, stern voice on the news caught his attention freshly — a politician on the screen acknowledging that the mutant tracking bill went too far ... and diverted attention from the main point that it was created to begin with.

"Those two feral mutants," the man said, "regardless of who they work with now, have committed atrocities and crimes against humanity. They need to be reined in and controlled. Locked up. There isn't any piece of evidence that connects either of them to the criminal acts that the Weapon X program committed against their test subjects. Even if they worked for the program, there's no proof that shows that they were controlled in any way, though it is well-documented that the feral known as Sabretooth willingly worked for this same group. What's to say these two didn't as well?"

"Oh," Annie said, sounding both disappointed and angry at the same time. "Oh ... and things were going so well." She rested her head on Scott's shoulder for a moment before she looked around to check if anyone was listening. "Can't you ... don't you have anything you can use to prove them wrong? We all know what happened ... and you've been doing so much work…"

"We know, but he's right. There isn't any  _proof_  tying it all together … yet." He shook his head. "But it has to be there. I know they had to have kept a record. Something."

"I know there is. And you'll find it, I'm sure," she agreed.

It wasn't twenty minutes later that Kurt returned, all of his good humor from earlier gone, though he glanced over at Scott and held up a piece of paper smeared with red paint. "Elin sent a Valentine for Chance," he said quietly. "She signed it with a handprint."

Annie reached over to take the little painting and pressed a hand to her mouth as she whispered out, "Oh, it's darling," before she very gingerly set it on the table, clearly overcome with emotion and hardly able to look at it after a moment.

"Did you tell them about the bill?" Scott asked.

"I did," Kurt said as he let a breath out. "But it wasn't necessary — they were watching the news when I got there."

"Oh." Annie looked between the two men as her entire countenance fell. "Then they know."

Kurt met her gaze and simply nodded his head solemnly.

"We'll fight it — just like we fought the bill. They've got to know that," Scott said, half pleadingly.

"They do," Kurt said. "But I don't know what difference that will make to them right now. Logan's grown his hair and beard out. I believe they're getting ready to disappear."

Scott let out a loud and frustrated shout for a second before he turned back to Kurt. "We're going after Weapon X. Fast.  _Now_. They've  _got_ to have something."

"I'm sure they do," Kurt said. "But Logan …" He shook his head and looked squarely at Scott. "Elin is talking. She surprises me every time I see her."

"I'm sorry you're missing so much of your goddaughter's growth," Scott said, though he sounded more angry at the situation than before.

"She said 'I love you'," Kurt said in simple explanation, his hands out and his palms turned up. It was clear to both of them that he was convinced he had just heard Elin say goodbye to him, and he was obviously shaken by it.

"Oh." Annie covered her mouth with both hands, eyes wide, before she couldn't help but run over and fling her arms around Kurt in a hug. "Don't worry. You'll fix this soon. You and Scott and Kate and everyone else. You'll get them back."

Scott stood back with his arms crossed and his jaw clenched as he watched Annie try to reassure Kurt. He cleared his throat. "Listen, Kurt ... I know you probably had plans for the holiday. But Kate was saying they were close to a lead, and this is a top priority now. We're  _not_ letting them disappear on us."

"I think we have a little bit of time," Kurt said, though he didn't look as if he entirely believed it. "I asked — since K had made a point to tell me it was almost time to move before. We don't have much, perhaps a week or two if I can catch them and move them again."

At that, the door opened, and in marched Kate and both of the twins, red-faced and grinning as Kate directed them to their seats so she could make them hot chocolate. And when Chance saw the drawing on the table, he perked right up. "Ewin maked this?" he asked.

"Just for you," Kurt confirmed, straightening up and clearly putting on a smile for the little boy — though Chance didn't notice how shaky that smile was when he was so occupied with his Valentine. "She signed it with her handprint, so you know it was her."

Chance looked wide-eyed at the very small handprint in the corner of the paper and gently placed his own hand over the little mark. "Ewin maked this," he whispered almost reverently.

Scott looked over at Kurt with an almost pained expression. "We're going after that lead. Right now."

"Agreed," Kurt said, clearly emotional himself.

Only a moment later, Kurt had teleported Scott and Kate to Clint's place, appearing in the entryway that seemed much emptier without all the boxes and papers scattered everywhere.

"Clint!" Kate called out. "I know it's Valentine's, but…" She trailed off when she spotted the note written in Natasha's perfect script on the table.

"Saw the news. Meet you there," it said.

She looked up at Kurt as he read the note over her shoulder, and there wasn't even a moment's hesitation before all three of them had teleported from Clint's apartment to the hidden bunker, arriving ahead of Clint and Natasha — though Wade was still there. He practically lived there at this point, absolutely determined to be around so he could be there for every moment of Weapon X's downfall.

"Is that location still good for the doctor you found last week?" Scott asked Wade, without preamble, when they arrived.

"It is, and we can go any time, Mister Big Man in Charge, sir!" Wade replied, snapping to attention as he said it.

"Clint and Nat are on their way," Kate told him, the ghost of a smile on her face at Wade's antics. "That guy's not going to know what hit him."

"Nosiree, not when we got  _the better Hawkeye_ on the case," Wade agreed, all but skipping over to her to kiss the top of her head and ruffle her hair affectionately like an overly excited uncle. But even Kate could tell that he was stressed — the overly affectionate routine wasn't quite as genuine and warm as usual.

Thankfully for the little group — who were clearly ready to get going and make these guys pay for the fact that they were still stuck without their feral friends — it didn't take too long for Clint and Natasha to arrive. Even that short time had clearly taken a bit too long for the bamfs' liking, because the little guys didn't waste any  _more_ time before teleporting right to them and grabbing an arm or leg apiece, looking to Kurt with a clear expression of 'let's go.'

As soon as Wade gave them the coordinates, the group as a whole appeared in a blink just outside a fairly ritzy-looking resort in the Caribbean. It was well-populated by rich couples enjoying a Valentine's getaway, and the group of six superheroes stuck out in the sea of well-dressed tourists.

"Got a room number?" Clint asked Wade even as Natasha and Kate had shared a look between them and both started to slip off to find something a little less conspicuous to wear — in case they needed an infiltration.

"Not a number exactly," Wade said. "The guy has the whole floor. Presidential Suite."

Kurt nodded at that and seemed primed to go — then shook his head. "I can't teleport there," he said. "They're getting a bit more paranoid — not just about us, I'm sure."

"They'd be stupid not to be at this point," Clint pointed out.

While the boys had been talking, Natasha and Kate had quickly changed, and when they reemerged, they looked almost nothing like themselves. None of the men on the team were sure how they had found the flowy dresses or the jewelry or the high heels, but they no longer stood out in the crowd — unless you counted a few heads that were turning at the  _strut_ they were both doing.

Clint almost laughed out loud at seeing the two of them. "Oh, no worries then. We'll be in... in about… ten minutes tops."

"Eleven if I have to redo my makeup," Kate teased.

But the girls weren't the only ones who were ready to go in undercover — Scott was surprised to find that Wade had pulled out an inducer while the Hawkeyes teased each other and had on his best 'snooty rich guy' look, complete with a tux and everything. He had even perfected the strut as, before Scott could say anything, he went to join the two ladies.

The two women, now on either side of Wade, sauntered into the resort like they owned the place, heads held high as they seemed to revel in the attention they knew they were getting all the way to the elevators. And when the doors opened onto the right floor, they hardly even blinked at the amount of guards around the place — and there were plenty of guards, all of them well-armed.

Natasha's lidded gaze found the biggest guard, and she flashed him a smile that was both business-like and somehow girlishly flirty at the same time. "A Valentine's present for Dr. Hines," she said smoothly, teeth worrying over her bottom lip as she seemed to size the guard up too.

But the guard faltered for a moment as he scrunched his brows up a bit. "Ah … That … isn't going to happen."

Natasha didn't betray anything except to raise an eyebrow. "I don't judge — I just deliver," she said.

"In all the years I've worked for the doc—"

"I know. Mid-life crises are always fun," Natasha said, clicking her tongue in sympathy as she lightly touched his shoulder and a small smile spread over her face. "Maybe you can have one later too."

He openly gave her a once-over and let out a little breath of a laugh before he dropped his gaze entirely.

"Alright then," Natasha said with a little nod before she simply waved one hand, as if to brush him off — though the wave continued until she'd put her now closed fist directly over his heart, the Widow's Bites charged. He crumpled in an instant as Natasha turned to the other two. "Plan B."

At that, both Wade and Kate dropped the strut and the snooty looks and made a rush for the guards — who, to their credit, were just as quick on the uptake and met their advance with the quick rapport of bullets.

Kate had snapped out a collapsible bow as she pulled a few arrows from the quiver strapped at her thigh and immediately fired both arrows through the eyes of one of the nearby guards before she tipped her head at Wade. "For sneaking peeks," she said, her lip curled the slightest.

"Oh, well if we're killing people for that, I've got a few that need to die over here too," Wade replied. "Checkin' out my backside —  _like I wouldn't notice._ "

"You do the strut too well," Kate teased as she ran over to cover Natasha, who was searching the downed guard for a keycard.

"I always do, sweetheart," Wade replied as he headbutted a guard. "I always do."

Natasha let out a little cry of triumph when she found the keycard and slid it into the door, though she paused and glanced back at the other two before she opened it. "Get down," she whispered, knowing there were likely guards on the other side who had heard the ruckus and were watching the door — before she kicked the door open and spun to the side herself as the guards inside did, in fact, open fire.

"Hawkguy!" Wade called out over the comms. "I see what you like about her — she's  _bossy_."

"Nah, she's just right," Clint replied easily as he and the other two members of the team made their own entrance, coming in through the windows on Clint's grappling arrows to help redirect some of the fire so that the other three could get in the door.

"I didn't say it was a problem," Wade returned as he pulled his swords and quickly adjusted his grip on them. "Just that she was bossy. I like bossy."

"Me too," Clint admitted with a shameless grin that was obvious to hear even to those of the group who couldn't see him shooting through guards.

"Well, if you like her so much, you should just marry her or something. Geez, Hawkeye," Kate teased.

"Yeah. Marry her and have a dozen little baby widows and one wee hawk." Wade grinned. "Though ... the widows would have bandages and the hawk would be just …. awesomely Widowy."

"Hey, I'd be happy if  _all_ of them were awesomely widowy all the way through," Clint replied without a second's hesitation.

"You hear that, Mrs. Widow!" Wade called out with one hand to the side of his mouth. "He's offering blank DNA! I'll bet he stays home to take care of them too while you're killing bad guys."

"I think you're taking your theoretical future a little too far," Natasha replied dryly, though Kurt was close enough to see that she was smirking to herself as she disarmed a guard and threw him over her shoulder.

" _Au contraire_ ," Wade said. "I think it's just a glimpse into the future! Picture it … it's a nice, cold morning. There is plenty of hot coffee in the kitchen, and you come home from a world tour of busting skulls and breaking bad to your sweet little hufflepuppy with fresh muffins waiting for you." He turned toward her with an obvious grin. "And there is also fresh baking. The muffins are the dozen or so little widows all curly-haired and in tiny. Little.  _Bodysuits_. They strike heroic poses naturally."

"I didn't realize you wrote fiction," Natasha said with a smirk.

"You have no idea," Kurt said as he twirled into a knot of gunfire. "He likely has a drawing of this scenario somewhere."

Kate shook her head as she shot an arrow through the hand of a guard trying to shoot at Scott, who returned the favor by throwing the guy into the wall when he turned an angry gaze on her and started her way. "I'd offer him a book contract, but I'm scared of what I'd get," she teased.

"You are an editor," Kurt reminded her.

"Yes, I know. So I'd have to  _read_ the first draft." Kate pulled a face. "And who knows what that's like. Muffins and bodysuits and … I dunno. Ghosts maybe."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the least of your worries on a first draft, Katie-Kate," Clint added. "It'd probably be the chronicles of the Hawkcrawler."

"Seriously. Stop trying to make that a thing, Wade. It's not a thing," Kate said before she let out a little 'aha' as she finally spotted the dampener and shot an arrow through it — which immediately freed up Scott and Kurt to get to work teleporting and blasting and making the fight a lot easier.

With Scott in particular, it was obvious that the Weapon X personnel simply hadn't prepared for the devastation that he brought to the suite, and the guards didn't have a defense before Scott had flattened the entire group in front of him with an optic blast that left a hole in the wall leading to the outside.

Wade paused to watch the show for a moment before he followed Natasha into the large double doors that led to the master suite, where inside, Dr. Carol Hines was trying to find a way out. She was on her cell phone, calling for backup as the group made their way in — with Scott keeping every guard left standing back.

Clint almost couldn't resist the opening. "Dr. Hines, I presume," he said in his most serious voice before he broke out into a grin and looked Nat's way. "No wonder she wasn't interested. Doesn't look your type, Nat. Too uptight."

Natasha shot Clint a  _look_  that didn't do much to stop the grin before she rolled her eyes and, in a flash, had vaulted over the desk to snatch the phone out of Dr. Hines' hand and toss it aside. In a flash, she had the woman by the collar of her shirt and pinned down on top of the desk. "I got dressed up for nothing, so you're going to give me some answers before I take it out on you," she whispered in a silky sweet voice before she did, in fact, take out her annoyance on the doctor — while Kurt and Scott made sure no one interrupted.

While Natasha worked, Wade casually strode over and picked up Hines' phone with a little 'yoink' before he dropped down in a chair and started poking around in it. The first thing he did was add his fingerprint so he could access it should it close up and then, before he really got to playing, he casually put the camera on and shoved it down his pants. When the shutter went off and the flash drew Clint's attention, the archer couldn't help but laugh, though when Kate caught him laughing, she rolled her eyes at both of them openly.

To Hines' credit, she held out for longer than Natasha had expected, though that probably didn't help Hines in the least and really only frustrated Natasha more. The Widow was simply  _done_ with this whole situation and with the fact that her little uncle was gone, and it showed in the increasingly creative questioning as the doctor was practically whimpering out her answers by the time she was done, whispering to Natasha about how the program had been preparing for a hit from the ferals, how they had plans to retake them should they show their faces… the usual, really.

As Hines finally began to spill though, Wade hit something on the phone that he wasn't sure what it was for — and a painting on the wall swung open to reveal a hidden safe. "That's interesting," Wade said as he got up to go investigate. "Hey Miss Widow, ma'am? This safe needs a fingerprint. Could I trouble you for that evil doctor for a moment, or maybe you could cut her hand off and chuck it? Either way …"

Natasha smiled at Hines sweetly. She'd already gotten most of what she wanted to know, anyway, and she yanked the woman to her feet by her hair. "She's all yours," Natasha told Wade.

He skipped over to where the two women were to haul her over to the safe. "Go ahead. Just open it up, and I won't have to give you back to the lovely Widow over there. I'll bet she learned a few things when she helped a little friend of mine do bad,  _bad_  things to an alien. Unless that's only good on aliens. I'll have to ask."

He rambled on as Hines grudgingly placed her hand on the scanner. It beeped, and Natasha turned their way to warn him a moment too slow as Hines pulled out a revolver and shot Wade twice before Natasha could hit her with the Widow's bite.

As soon as Wade was down, Natasha had hit Hines — and so had Kate — but all of them were surprised to find that Wade was  _down_. Clint was the closest as he grabbed the gun and dropped it in his quiver for later — since clearly it had to be something weird to down Deadpool — but quickly got down to work after that assessing the two gunshot wounds. "Thought you could heal, you idiot — what the futz  _is_  this stuff?"

Scott looked over his shoulder at Wade as the bleeding made itself well known — staining the shirt Wade had on deep, dark red. "If he's not healing at all, it's probably carbonadium," Scott called out before he turned back to take a shot at a guard that thought he'd make some progress on them while they were working on Wade. "It stops healing abilities."

"So — wait, wait, he's not healing?" Clint looked up at Scott and then past him to Kurt. "O-kay. I'm calling medical evac on this joyride then because… um. This looks bad."

"Yes, it does," Kurt agreed as he took a hold of Wade, who wasn't making any jokes for the time being as he very lightly put his arm around Kurt's shoulders before they disappeared in a plume of smoke.

Natasha glared around the room for a moment before she looked in the safe and picked up a flash drive — the only other thing that had been there outside of the gun as Scott explained on their escape.

"It's a manufactured metal. It stops the healing abilities in their tracks. The only way to reverse it is to get it out of them — but bullets are going to be a problem," Scott explained while they dropped down the side of the building — not risking taking the stairs or elevator. "It's brittle. It fractures easily. A bullet ... that would splinter."

Clint winced visibly on hearing that and shook his head. "That many little pieces… that's gonna be a problem."

"It is," Scott agreed with a heavy frown.

"And they're just waiting for Logan or K to come so they can hit them with that stuff if they have to," Kate said, falling into her own glare. "Creeps."

They'd hardly hit the ground before the bamfs grabbed hold of the rest of them and chattered at Kate for a moment. She raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Really? That was a smart move," she said. "Has he got Celia to help?" The bamfs chattered again, and she nodded before she looked up at the others. "Kurt took him to Noh's ship. Noh's got some pretty good scanners that they've used to work out carbonadium before — and he's helping Kurt and Celia work on Wade."

Scott let out a breath. "Yeah, I remember he used those when Logan took that hit a few years back when we were fighting Accusers."

Kate nodded as the four of them broke into a run to get clear of the building. "He seemed to think it would be a good idea to outfit his ship's med bay with a little more equipment to deal with that sort of thing. Probably why you two get along so well — always prepared."

Scott raised his eyebrows at her before Clint broke in, "Wade okay?"

"Don't know yet," Kate admitted. She ran a hand through her hair as she glanced at one of the bamfs near her shoulder. "They want to know if they should take us to where Wade is or if we want to go back to the bunker."

Scott glanced toward Natasha. "I'd like to see what was in that safe," he said, and no sooner were the words out of his mouth than the bamfs teleported all four of them back to the bunker.

"It's a flash drive," Natasha said once she'd reoriented herself — it was a bit disconcerting to be teleported in mid-run. She headed for the nearest laptop, with Scott hot on her heels, but Clint hesitated and glanced toward Kate.

"Think I'd like to be there for Wade," he told her with a small frown. "If it's that bad with the carbon-whatever, it's going to suck."

Kate just nodded. "Yeah," she said in a low whisper. She glanced at one of the bamfs, and a second later, Clint had disappeared in a poof of smoke as well, leaving the rest of them to settle in and see just what it was that the good doctor had been protecting.


	6. Weapon X Files and Video Tapes

When Kate caught up with Scott and Natasha, they were both already seated in front of the laptop as Natasha scrolled through the contents of the flash drive. It looked like they would have plenty more records to sift through, and Kate paused to ask one of the bamfs to check on Krissy, who was with Annie and the twins, before she let out a sigh and headed for the coffee pot to make sure they were all fueled up for another round of researching.

"Wait — that's a video file," Scott said, though it wasn't necessary, as Natasha was already making a little humming noise as she narrowed her eyes to open it up.

Kurt teleported in before the video file could start playing, and Natasha paused, looking to him for an update.

"Celia and Noh are working on Wade right now," he reported, looking weary. "It could take some time. You were right, Scott — the bullets splintered." He let out a heavy sigh as he moved closer to the other three to stand behind Kate, almost automatically wrapping his arms around her waist. "Celia says he was lucky — several of the splinters came close to his heart and his spine. But they are not… stationary. They're drifting."

Scott let out a low whistle at the thought of the damage those weapons could do to their healing friends. "Can they get it all out?"

"That's the hope," Kurt said. He shook his head and let out a bit of a chuckle. "Wade wanted to know if they could put all the pieces in a jar."

"Of course he did," Scott said, shaking his head before he turned his attention back to the laptop, and Natasha opened up the video file.

What they saw was not exactly what they were expecting. Of course, they weren't sure  _what_ they'd see — but this... It was a laboratory setting. Lots of white-coated people were fussing back and forth as the focus on the camera went fuzzy then cleared up and zoomed in from above to show the team that was attaching all kinds of wires and leads to someone on a table. They were talking low and working fast, and it all sounded very clinical until they stepped back and the test subject was submerged into some greenish water and the recording caught the official commentary as the man's voice announced that they were ready to start the bonding process.

Nothing seemed to be happening on screen outside of the commentary from the lab techs shouting out vital signs and reporting the status of the 'reserves' as the water in the tank seemed to boil. The alarms were screaming, and the techs were shouting about sedation levels, heart monitors and the like — while the man in charge simply told them to keep going and use the reserves, insisting that "He can take it."

The whole thing was very old and fuzzy, so they couldn't entirely identify the subject — but both Scott and Natasha were pale and Kurt was supremely still as Scott muttered, "That's Logan."

Though not a solid confirmation, the fact that the person in the tank needed no medical intervention before the monitors evened out and the quiet celebration began in the lab was proof enough for those watching the old video.

"I'll see what I can do to clean this up," Natasha offered as soon as the video cut out. "I don't know that it will do us much good to prove his innocence… but it at least proves there were video records."

Scott nodded. "See what you can do. We'll go through the rest of the records in the meantime," he said, though his eyes were wide, and he still looked pale.

They made sure to make several copies so there was no danger of losing what they had before they got down to work sifting through the new info, trying to find their next lead to chase.

It had been a few hours before Wade and Clint returned to the bunker. By that time, Kate had disappeared with the bamfs to go get Krissy and came back with some food for the rest of them as well. Krissy, for her part, was contentedly giggling and playing with Kate until she saw the men arrive and immediately wanted to get attention from them too.

Wade was quick to make his way to the food and started making faces at Krissy — though it wasn't as effective as the ones that Clint made, since the mask stayed on outside of what needed to be rolled up so he could eat. "Relax, Hawkguy," Wade said between bites. "It was a fluke kind of thing. It's over."

Clint still looked a bit shaken up as he shook his head at Wade. "C'mon Wade. People die from fluke things. Apparently even  _healers_."

"Well, you know … it happens. But it's  _fine_ now. See? Eating like a pig even! Good as new!"

Clint rolled his eyes at Wade, which got Krissy to giggle at both of them and hold her arms up to be picked up by one of them, not seeming to care who so long as she got some attention.

Wade got there first and gave her a little tickle before he snuggled her and asked if she wanted to be tossed in the air — which, of course, she did. "Katie-bug, there needs to be more little purple elves. She is too cool."

Kate grinned as she saw Krissy wrapping her tail around Wade's arm and giving him the best little gummy smile. "Yeah, she's pretty much perfect," she agreed.

"What do you mean pretty much?" Wade asked, tickling the little elfling again.

"Yes, she is entirely perfect," Kurt agreed, looking up from the files with a crooked grin on his face.

"Definitely my favorite purple elf," Clint said with a teasing grin as he reached over Wade to poke Krissy in the stomach to get her to giggle again.

At that, Wade pulled a phone out of his pocket that Kate did not recognize as his. "Oops! Wrong phone," Wade said as he set it down and pulled out his actual phone to take a selfie with Krissy. The little elfling had already figured out what phones meant and was clearly her father's daughter — she pulled out a huge grin for him, totally performing.

Clint picked up the phone Wade had set aside with a frown. "Didn't you lift this from the doc back there?"

"Yes, I did," Wade said. "Thought there might be a chance it could help. You know. Dig up who she was calling for backup ... look up other creepy docs ... they probably have a clubhouse with a password and everything." He was making ridiculous noises as he played with Krissy, telling her what sounds various animals made, only getting more ridiculous as the little girl started to belly laugh.

"Good call," Clint agreed as he started to look through the phone himself. "Contact just says 'Abraham.' You know anybody?" he asked Wade when he pulled up the most recent call.

"Abraham Cornelius," Scott broke in, looking up from the files with a bit of fire in his gaze. "He's supposed to be dead."

"How do you know that?" Kate asked.

"When Logan died — the other Logan — it was when he was fighting that man," Kurt said in what was almost a snarl.

"But… Logan killed that guy," Kate said with a frown. "The other Logan did, I mean. At least, that's what Cap told the older Logan when…" She rubbed her forehead for a moment. "There are too many Logans in this equation."

"They were working on something to keep people alive ... to perform this … procedure," Scott said with his jaw locked. "I wouldn't be surprised to find out one of his assistants got to him with the drug. Kitty said it was pretty potent stuff."

"Is it permanent?" Natasha asked with venom in her voice. "This potent potion — will it bring him back if I kill him again?"

"If that potion was permanent, the other Logan wouldn't be dead," Scott told her. "She used it on him in Madripoor."

"Good." Natasha had produced a knife from somewhere — no one had seen where — and was examining it with an almost longing gaze. "Then all we have to do is find him and end him - and take everything he knows in the process." She looked up at the others before her gaze found Clint. "Can you get his location from that?" she asked.

Clint nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Then we'll have everything we need. Cornelius was the man that created the bonding process. If anyone has the video records of the  _successes,_  it'll be him," Scott said with a nod. "And likely all the controls set into place afterward."

"He knew Hines was under attack. If he's as paranoid as she was, he's getting himself somewhere new," Clint said thoughtfully.

"Yes, but we can find him," Kurt said, his expression matching Scott's almost exactly.

"Yes. We will," Natasha agreed.

* * *

Although Kurt had hoped that they would find Cornelius quickly, Clint had been right to predict that the man was paranoid — and moving often. It had been a few weeks, and they still hadn't caught up to him. But in the meantime, Logan and K were ready to relocate again, and he teleported to their current hideaway with a plan in mind.

"I was wondering if you'd remembered the date I gave you," K told him when he appeared. "You're late. Next time, I'll leave instead of waiting."

"I'm sorry to be late," he said, sincerely. He had been out with the others chasing down a lead with Cornelius, but he didn't tell her that part.

She made her way over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I have this down to a science. Don't mess with my science."

"I'll try not to," he said with a crooked smile. "But you know, I do, on occasion, have to fight villains — and they don't exactly conform to your schedule."

"True," she said as she gave him an appraising look. "In that case, I'll find a way to mail you a clue on how to find us."

"I'd appreciate that," he said, relaxing significantly at that before he looked past her to Logan and Elin playing together and then back to K. "I have a place in mind this time."

"I don't know," she said, frowning already. "I'm trying not to make a pattern."

"I don't think this place fits into any pattern," he assured her, this time with a little smirk. "It's nothing like the others."

"Probably not," she admitted, "But you don't know what I look for in my hideouts. Believe it or not, I have a pretty extensive checklist."

"Why don't you at least see it before you dismiss my ideas so easily?" he teased.

She gave him a crooked smile and put her arm around his back as they headed toward Logan and Elin. "I didn't dismiss it," she said as she gave him a little squeeze. "There's just a method to my madness."

Kurt nodded his understanding before he crouched down in front of Elin. He'd learned from his previous visits to talk to her first and gave her a wide smile. "Kiss?" he asked her, knowing it was better to get his kiss in now than when he was trying to leave.

She beamed up at him and rushed up to him, grabbing his head with both hands before she very, very carefully gave him a kiss on the mouth like she'd clearly seen her parents do. "Elf," she said before she giggled and threw her arms around his neck as she liked to do.

"That's right," he agreed as he snuggled her back. He looked up at Logan. "Are you ready to go? I know I'm late."

"Yeah," Logan said with a nod. "Ready when you are."

With a grin and a nod, Kurt simply teleported the group from the little house on the top of a mountain to what was clearly a hidden atoll in the middle of the ocean — an uninhabited island like the one he and Kate had visited back when they first met.

K took a tighter grip on Kurt and stared out at the water for a moment as Logan gave Kurt a look. "This … definitely breaks my pattern." She stayed there, almost wide-eyed for a long moment before she took a few steps forward to try and orient herself. "Where the hell are we?"

"In the Pacific," Kurt told her. "I thought Elin might like to build sand castles."

K allowed her mouth to drop a bit at that. "Okay … but …  _okay_. This … is beautiful. And I'm sure it's a real dream come true for a lot of people? But it is missing something critical."

"There's a little house further in," he promised, though he already knew what she was going to say.

"That's not it," Logan said. "There's no escape route. The wrong people show up, and we're stuck."

Kurt frowned but shook his head. "There is no one around for miles — and you can always call me." He looked toward Logan a bit pleadingly.

"We can't stay here for long," K said as Logan met Kurt's gaze.

"She's right," Logan said. "And neither one of us tan for beans."

"Then don't stay here for long — but please, stay here for a while?" Kurt offered. "It would do you both good, I think." He shot a sideways smirk Logan's way. "It always does that for me and my wife. And I thought you could use a little vacation time in all the hiding."

"Well, we're not exactly tropical types," Logan countered with a dry look.

"A week," K said. "No more than a week. Promise me that much."

"One week," Kurt said, not adding that he hoped they would be able to have news for them sooner. "One week of building sand castles with your little girl."

"She'd like it better if you were building them with her," Logan told him with one eyebrow raised.

"I'll be sure to take her to the beach for summer holidays then," Kurt replied. "And for any other holidays she'd like — as soon as we get this cleared up." He met Logan's gaze. "We're close, Logan. I really think we are."

"Sounds like you're overstating things," Logan said as he tipped his head toward the center of the island. "You can read the little one a story before you go."

"That reminds me," Kurt said, shooting Logan a look. "I brought some more pictures — and a video." He pulled out his phone, the proud smile starting to overtake the look he'd shot Logan. "Krissy is sitting up now."

Logan smirked wide at seeing the proof, chuckling under his breath. Krissy wasn't the only one in the video, and he had to laugh at Sying's antics as Krissy shook her head 'no' at him and her tail switched behind her, though the little boy seemed completely undeterred as he continued to try to help her sit up — since he'd been sitting far longer and seemed to think she needed a boost.

"Tryin' to drag her along with him," Logan said. "Wait 'til she's big enough to 'port. She'll scare the crap out of him — dropping him off places so he won't pester her."

"Wait — you should see the picture of Charlie when she found the two of them," Kurt said with a little chuckle as he scrolled through to show Logan the two-year-old little girl with her hands on her hips, clearly reading Sying the riot act for making Krissy fall over again.

He laughed outright at that one. "At least you got that look for me. It'd only be better if she was doing it to her father."

"Peter had a picture of her doing it to Magneto, actually," Kurt said with a slowly growing smile. "But he wanted to print and frame that one for you."

"There's some poetry there," Logan said with a grin before Kurt picked up Elin to show her and K around the little house.

They spent a bit of time as Kurt tried to catch them up on the news: no progress yet on the political front — but it was so close, he swore. But that just opened up questions, as both ferals were curious as to  _how_ they were going to counter the argument, and all Kurt could tell them was to please trust him.

"You know I do," Logan told him. "I'm just … I don't understand. The guy has a point."

"Only to those who don't know the full truth," Kurt said, shaking his head.

"And there's no way to illustrate that," Logan said.

"That's what they're saying," Kurt said with a nod. "But those are just words. Have a little faith, Logan. We do know what we're doing — all appearances to the contrary."

"These people … Don't get caught up with them," Logan said.

"I don't intend to be caught up," Kurt promised before he let a sly smile spread over his features. "I intend to do the catching myself." But he could see from the look both of them were giving him that they didn't like the sound of that at  _all._  He held up his hands. "Please, trust me. If nothing else, know that I wouldn't do anything that would take me from Krissy."

"Good," K said. "Because if this goes south — she won't be your only daughter."

Kurt frowned her way and closed his eyes for a moment before he shook his head. "I pray it doesn't come to that. And if all goes well, it won't. Even if I do love  _mein Patentochter_  dearly, she deserves you two and that love and family."

"Well, we tend to agree," K said, making a point to give Kurt a little kiss on the cheek. "But we  _know_ what these people are capable of. Please, don't … just don't let them get a hold of you. I don't want you to have to go through that  _mess._ "

"Don't worry," he said earnestly as Elin came running over to him and he scooped her up to tickle her. "You're just getting so big, little one," he teased her.

She giggled, and when he stopped tickling her, she gave him another hug and grinned up at him with an almost sloppy smile, clearly contented in his arms.

"Oh, Annie sent me with some chocolate chip cookies for you," Kurt told her with a smile as he pulled out a little baggie. "Chance helped her make them too," he said, pointing to a little card with a handprint, since Chance had loved hers so much.

She smiled a little wider and gave him another kiss on the nose before she took the bag and card. " _Danke_ ," Elin said quietly.

Kurt stopped and blinked at her before he kissed the top of her head and glared over at the two ferals.

K just shrugged openly. "What? You said German, right?"

"I did, didn't I?" he said, shaking his head before he set Elin down again.

"Besides, I didn't teach her that one," K said with a grin.

"That doesn't surprise me," he said, standing up and shaking his head at Logan.

"She's not big enough to wrap her mouth around Japanese," Logan said with a shrug.

Kurt chuckled a bit as he said, "Maybe she can start learning Kree from her big brother when you get home."

"Don't tell Noh," Logan said. "But she can already say hello and count to five."

Kurt stared at him for a moment and then shook his head disbelievingly. "She's going to knock the words right out of him."

Logan smirked and nodded. "If we get back."

"When you do, Jubilee will start in on Mandarin as well, just as soon as she finishes kissing Elin."

"See you in a week, Elf," Logan said, shaking his head at his optimistic best friend before Kurt disappeared in a plume of smoke.

….

 _Patentochter_  - God daughter (from German)


	7. A Lead In Madripoor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hawkeyes and Deadpool ride again! Straight ... into Madripoor. What a mistake without their ninja bait!

It was late enough when Natasha called Clint that Wade had fallen asleep, slumped over several files, and Kate was drifting off on the couch close by. Kurt had already teleported back to the mansion to put Krissy to bed — she had fallen asleep on his chest only to wake up at Wade's snoring, so Kurt had gone to find her somewhere a bit quieter to sleep.

"Hey, Nat," Clint said quietly, rubbing a bit of the sleep from his own eyes as he strained to focus on the phone call. He went to the coffeemaker as he spoke and poured himself another cup. "You find anything in Belarus?"

"I'm not sure if it's solid," Natasha said carefully, but that just had Clint grinning, because it meant it was probably juicy and she was just being cautious about falling into optimism. "But it's definitely worth looking into, at least."

"Send it to me and we'll check it out," Clint said, starting to grin. "Might be a dead end, but if it's got you this excited..."

"I'll send it to you if you quit smiling like that," she told him, smirking herself on the other end of the phone — he just knew it. "It's unprofessional."

"I don't recognize that word. Is it Russian?"

"I'll teach you something new in Russian later," she promised, the smirk easy to hear by the tone of her voice.

"Love ya too, Nat. See you in a bit," he said, grinning wide now.

"Where we headed, boss?" Wade asked before Clint could entirely hang up. He was rubbing his hands together and nearly bouncing in place — but had been surprisingly quiet until then, which was impressive, because Clint hadn't noticed him awake until then.

Clint held up a finger to tell him to hold on, and a few moments later, the phone chimed with the message from Nat. "Madripoor, apparently."

"Been a while since we played there," Wade said. "What's the plan? Hawks or Hawk and Ronin? You know, since we're going to the far east. You could pull out the old threads. Might be a fight started over that name … either way, sounds like a party, right?"

"I'm not wearing that old suit," Clint said, shaking his head.

"Then I'll wear it — where is it?"

"Not. Here." Clint shook his head harder as he went to the couch to very gently shake Kate's shoulder to wake her up.

"I hear ya. It's at Widow's place. You just don't want to wear it  _in public._ "

Clint rolled his eyes. "No." He shook Kate's shoulder a little harder, and when she tried to push him off, he just chuckled. "C'mon, Katie Kate. We got a lead."

She picked her head up the slightest to look at him. "Is it another back alley roundtrip dead end — or a  _lead_?" she asked, her voice thick, still only half awake.

"Nat sent it in, and she sounded excited."

At that, she pushed herself up and nodded, using Clint as a lever to pull herself to her feet before she quickly grabbed some coffee to wake up a little faster, shrugging her quiver on as she looked for her sword. "Where?"

"Madripoor," Clint said.

She looked up at him with one eyebrow raised. "And she thinks it's solid?"

"Not in so many words, but I know how to speak Nat," Clint said, grinning outright. "C'mon, I'll fly, and you can catch some z's on the way out."

She nodded and reached for her phone to let Kurt know they were headed to check out a lead. At that point, after a few weeks of searching, it was really just second nature — text each other, find a dead end, call each other on the way back, and someone made sure Krissy was taken care of in between.

The three of them took a little jet, though it was pretty obvious that none of them were going to sleep. Even as often as they were hitting dead ends, they could  _feel_ how close they were, and they were buzzing with anticipation, hoping  _this time_  would work out.

"Hey, did I tell you what I found the other day for Gerry's birthday?" Kate asked suddenly when they were still a ways out from Madripoor — just for something to break up the buzz of anticipation, and for a way to stay awake, since they were all a little sleep deprived. "I found the  _cutest_ little suction cup dartboard set. It's perfect."

"He'll love it," Clint promised. "He loves anything from his Aunt Katie, though. He still won't take off those mittens you gave him for Christmas, and they're getting way too small." He drew himself up a bit as he added, "Just hit a growth spurt recently."

"He's gonna be tall and bandaged like his daddy," Wade said. "I'm gonna get him a doctor's kit."

"A real one or a kid-friendly one?" Clint asked, just to be sure.

"Like he doesn't need baby's first bone saw," Wade laughed.

"Maybe something a little less… bandage- _causing_ , okay, Wade?" Clint said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, wait until he can at least handle the pointy arrows," Kate agreed.

"I was  _joking_ ," Wade said, rolling his eyes dramatically and slumping his shoulders. "Jeeez. Like I'd do anything like that purposely on purpose."

"You never know," Kate said, then, just to mess with Clint, added, "Besides, Clint's overprotective. I'm surprised the kid's not wrapped in bubble wrap all the time."

"Don't tempt me," Clint chuckled. "He's already got Gerry's mom blaming me for the fact that he lives with a perpetual bruise right on his forehead. You know. At the level of the table. Which he seems not to have realized he is now tall enough to hit when he runs around at full speed." He shook his head. "Which is even worse when you consider it looks like he's got his mom's strength — even if it's coming in a little slower than hers did."

"Well, he and Chance are always playing superheroes," Kate pointed out. "They're going to be the most adorable teamup of all time. Little rays of sunshine."

"Yeah, Gerry keeps asking to have Chance over to play 'cause he knows Chance is missing Elin," Clint admitted. "That and he loves having someone his age around. Not many in the business two and three years old."

"You better keep a close eye on that little guy," Wade warned. "That itty bitty Wolverine is going to break all the hearts she can."

"She's  _already_  broken Chance's," Clint pointed out. "Little guy's smitten. First crush is always the hardest," he added, shaking his head.

"Have you seen her?" Wade asked. "I totally stole that picture from Hawkeye, Hawk-guy."

"Not in person. Not since around Thanksgiving. But I saw the hello to Chance, and that — that is seriously mean to that little boy," Clint said. "He's  _pining_."

"You should see Kurt when he gets back from visiting them," Kate said, shaking her head softly. "It's killing him that he can't be there. And we missed her first Christmas, too."

For a second, Clint tipped his head at Kate and then all at once nodded decisively. "Well that's what this trip's for, Katie Kate. Maybe we'll at  _least_ get a trail instead of a dead end. Getting kinda tired of those."

Kate shot him a bit of a smirk. "Yeah. It's almost like they're scared of us, Hawkeye."

"That just means we're doing it right, Hawkeye," he agreed.

The conversation turned to preparations for Gerry's birthday party the next week, though as they got closer to Madripoor, it dropped off almost entirely, and by the time they got to the coordinates Natasha had sent them, all three of them were ready for a fight — and well and truly caffeinated to stay awake, considering none of them had really slept.

The coordinates had put them, unsurprisingly, in a seedier part of town, but already, they were sure that there wasn't going to be much to be found. There were no overwhelming forces, and the streets seemed relatively empty, as in this part of the world it was getting to be late enough at night that no one was really out and about.

"Wonder if there's any place open for food," Clint muttered Kate's way, and she rolled her eyes at him. "What? Guy's gotta eat."

"There is  _always_ something open in Madripoor — not that you'd want to eat it without an advanced healing ability … but you know .. we might have to revoke your Hawkeye card, there, Hawkguy. Sounds like you're saying you can't live on coffee, and that — that is just  _blasphemy_ ," Wade said with exaggerated wide eyes.

Kate snorted but had to nod her agreement. "Seriously, Hawkeye. What's up with that?"

Clint rolled his eyes at both of them as they continued to poke their way through the fairly abandoned streets. But aside from one stray cat that got a shriek out of Wade when it hissed at him for getting too close to its napping place … it was obvious pretty quickly that this was another dead end.

"Sorry, gang," Clint said, letting out his breath with his entire body. "Looks like a bust."

Kate blew her hair out of her face and leaned against one of the buildings nearby. "Well, plus side ... I can go home and cuddle a cute Elf and nap with cute purple Elfling."

"Seriously. You two keep up and you're gonna have another purple one," Clint teased her.

"Says the man who can't stop reminding people who he's married to," she shot back. "Oh, what's that? You married the Black Widow? Oh, I didn't know that." She grinned over at Wade, who high-fived her.

"No, no," Clint said, shaking his head. " _She_ married  _me_. I just came as window dressing."

"Way Logan tells it, you didn't know what was happening until the 'I do's," she giggled.

"Give me some credit — I figured it out by 'dearly beloved'."

Kate laughed at him as they headed toward what looked like an old office complex. There wasn't much else to check in the area, and it looked fairly abandoned, but both Hawkeyes had their bows drawn, and Wade led the way into the building, all three of them on alert just in case.

The old reception desk clearly hadn't been used in a while, as there was a fine layer of dust on it, and besides a few emergency generator lights, the place was fairly dark — though in their experience, that usually meant it  _was_ being used as a villain hideout.

"This place looks haunted," Wade stage whispered before he slowly drew out his katanas — letting the sound of the sharp edges echo the empty room.

"If I start seeing dead people, I swear, I'm ditching you both," Kate said.

"I see dead people all the time. I usually make them that way …"

Clint actually chuckled at that. "Gotta use your words right, Katie Kate. You mean undead."

"But that's not how the movie goes. Troglodytes." She stuck her tongue out at him before she tipped her head Clint's way and whispered to Wade, "He's still got a phone on his  _wall_."

"He's vintage."

Kate laughed out loud at that and playfully nudged Clint in the shoulder. "Must be why I love him," she agreed.

He had just reached over to skew her headband when they heard the slight tap of a device hitting the tile floor of the reception area, and just like before in Clint's apartment, the lights, the comms, and Clint's aides went out — though that didn't stop Clint from yelling at them both to get down as something else came sailing their way.

Because of the previous raid on Clint's place, they were a little better prepared to throw their hands up and cover their ears as the flashbang went off, though as soon as they moved to try to find their attackers and give them what-for, a second round of flashbangs went off, this time effectively disorienting all three of them.

* * *

Krissy woke Kurt up early that morning — she always woke up hungry and annoyed and clearly not a morning person, like her mother. After he'd picked her up and given her a bottle, he had to frown when he realized that Kate had never called to let him know she was on her way back from checking out that lead.

He had to wonder if that meant it was more than the usual dead end.

When Krissy was a little settled out, he headed downstairs to grab some coffee for himself, setting Krissy down in her little playpen before he poured up a mug and then decided to call Kate — just in case. When there was no answer, he frowned and tried both Clint and Wade but got the same results.

He let out a breath. He didn't know where they had gone to chase this lead, so it was possible they were still there. But still ... he couldn't help but worry. He knew who they were dealing with.

Noh came down a bit later with Sying, who laughed delightedly on seeing Krissy and squirmed until his dad set him down so he could crawl over to where Krissy was giving him a very unimpressed glare. The little guy was far outstripping her in mobility despite being younger, and Krissy didn't like it in the least — she was too young to understand that he was stronger and could hold himself up sooner.

Noh watched Sying trying to help Krissy play with some of her toys, demonstrating them for her as she babbled at him angrily and tried to swat him away. "He doesn't understand what's taking her so long," he laughed quietly as he watched the two of them interact. He looked over at Kurt with pride in his eyes as he added, "He took a few steps on his own yesterday, and he seems to think Krissy is just… scared to try. He's trying to encourage her."

"She wants to do things on her own," Kurt laughed, watching as Krissy, in her little baby language, was definitely telling Sying off. He couldn't help but smirk, because he could see Kate's expression painted all over Krissy's face.

Noh laughed and nodded his agreement. "She's just like her mother," he teased lightly before he tipped his head to the side. "It's a good thing Sying isn't quite as feisty as  _his_ mother, or he'd try to give it back to her — and he doesn't understand how to control his strength yet. Not that he doesn't have her mannerisms — it just takes more for him to let loose his temper."

Kurt nodded his agreement and was about to say something else when the phone rang in the other room, and Noh held up a hand.

"I'll get it," he told Kurt, though when he ran to get the phone, he didn't recognize the number at all — and he had the number of each of their allies memorized. "This is the Xavier Institute," he said when he picked it up. "Noh-Varr speaking."

"I need to talk to someone in charge, seeing as apparently, my father has decided to disappear again."

Noh narrowed his eyes and let out a sigh when he recognized Daken's voice. "Why don't you just tell me whatever it is you think is so important."

"I wouldn't be calling at all if it wasn't important," he replied with a bit of heat. "I'd come to you, but I thought you might want to know where your little Hawk has gone, and I can only do that by staying where I am."

Noh raised his eyebrows at that and frowned. "It's my understanding she's been out with the other Hawkeye. Has something changed?"

"Yes, he's there too," Daken said. "Someone in charge, Marvel Boy. Quickly."

Noh let out a long sigh, annoyed at Daken for ordering him around and for dismissing him as well, but finally had to nod. "Give me just a moment," he said before he set the phone down and zipped off to go find Scott — who by that time had come down to coffee as well and had turned on the news and opened the morning paper. "Scott," he called out. "Daken would like to speak with you. He called the mansion — it's something about Kate."

At that, both Scott and Kurt looked up from what they were doing — and Kurt looked downright worried as Scott quickly headed to the other room to take the call.

"Noh, can you watch Krissy for a moment?" Kurt asked. "If Kate's in trouble…"

"Of course I can," Noh assured him, and Kurt teleported off to go join Scott in the other room.

Scott arrived at about the same time Kurt did and grabbed up the phone with a frown already starting up. "This is Cyclops. What's going on, Daken?"

"Charmed," Daken said dryly. "The three …  _operatives_  you have out managed to get themselves captured. I have eyes on the facility, and no one has gone in or out for hours. I thought you might want their location."

"If you can give me coordinates, we can be there now," Scott told him.

"Give me a cell number and I'll send it your way."

Scott frowned that much deeper. "Fine," he said before he gave Daken his. "Do you have eyes on our operatives, or just the facility?"

"Just the building," Daken replied. "But when you get here, I can lead you through it. I'm familiar with the layout of it. The building has a faraday cage built in, so communication is spotty at best."

"Alright. We'll meet you there," Scott told him before he looked to Kurt, who was standing close enough to have heard everything. As soon as the text came in from Daken with the coordinates, Kurt teleported them both straight there —arriving several yards from where Daken was waiting for them.

"Welcome to Madripoor," Daken said with a tiny smirk as he turned to point his whole body at the warehouse in question. "Is this all you brought?"

"If they have Kate, this is all we'll need," Kurt said, settling into a glare.

He let out a little hum as he looked them both over critically. "Yes. Well. They have both hawks and the idiot monkey boy in the red suit," Daken replied. "I'll show you the way in."

But before he could lead the way, Scott grabbed him by the arm to turn him to face him. "What's your angle here? Your father's not here, so why are you helping us now?"

Daken scowled at the spot where Scott had grabbed him just before he wrapped his hand around Scott's wrist and wrenched it off. "I am  _trying_ to establish something with my father. He made it clear that would mean watching out for his idiot friends if they were stupid enough to find themselves in trouble on my island."

Scott frowned and very clearly watched Daken for a long moment, arms crossed, before he nodded once. "Fair," he said at last. "But why stick your neck out showing us in instead of sending us coordinates?"

"It was a courtesy to your people. These outsiders do not belong here," Daken replied with a bit of a sneer. "They have no permission to be here, and I don't appreciate it when anyone tries to nose in on my turf. I can handle them myself — but if you wanted your people alive, you needed to retrieve them before I handled it."

Scott let out the slightest of breaths as he nodded. "Alright." He tipped his head toward the facility. "Let's see what we can do about getting them off your turf and getting our friends back, shall we?"

"Oh, it was going to happen with or without you," Daken replied. "I already have the building wired to blow. As I said — this was a courtesy to you."

"Waste of good wire," Scott told him with a smirk as the very edges of his eyes glowed red.

"Yes, we'll see how that goes," Daken replied — again giving Scott a slow once over before he waved them forward.


	8. Don't Touch The Hawkeyes

As for the three heroes that had gone into Madripoor… they were in more trouble than they had bargained for, especially since the Department wanted to know exactly what information they had managed to get their hands on… and they wanted new information from the heroes as well.

"HEY!" Wade shouted with a snarl. "Leave Donatello alone! He's the lonesome George of his kind! He's  _better than you_!"

"One outta three ain't bad," Clint said through his teeth before he couldn't stop the cry as the doctor 'questioning' the three captives broke another finger on his left hand. It was a frustratingly familiar situation; he was with the other two, and the bad guys were making them  _watch_ each other. This soon after the invasion and the Kree, the familiarity was doing more to upset Clint than the actual torture — not that he would give that away.

"We saw the files that Richards collected on you," the doctor told Clint calmly. "Very interesting."

Clint had to admit…  _that_ wasn't what he wanted to hear, especially considering what all they were learning about what happened to people the Department turned their interest to. So he shook his head and pasted on a crooked smirk. "I'm flattered, doc. Didn't know Iowa corn redneck carnies counted much as interesting."

"It's more the slight healing capabilities," the doc said, leveling with him — a cold smile in place — as Clint wondered how the heck these guys had figured  _that_ out. "We need to start looking into how useful it is."

"Didn't realize you wanted to know what your own hands tasted like so bad, but I'll be feeding them to you in about five seconds if you don't futzing back off of him," Kate said in what could only be described as a growl. Out of the three of them, Kate had the least experience with this kind of setup, and Clint was honestly concerned, because he could see the way she had her hands clenched to keep them from shaking.

She gave him grief for treating her like a kid sidekick, but… Clint had hoped that he could keep her away from the kind of trouble that would get her pinned down for torture for torture's sake instead of experimentation, but… well…

"Don't worry," the doctor told Kate. "I'll get to you too in good time. And I'll start with your shoulder."

When Kate just fell into a glare at that but couldn't come up with a snappy retort, Clint broke in with, "Don't worry, Katie Kate. He'll be too busy with the interesting Hawkeye. You're fine."

"At least for a little while. Are you all quite sure you don't want to share where your friends are?" The doc looked at each of them in turn, his expression the very image of patience.

"Already told you it's the corner of None of Your Business and Screw You," Kate snarled, and Clint couldn't help but smirk — Kate was coming up with new answers every time, and he was kind of proud. She had some pretty great zingers when they asked her how to get into the mansion, too — which they asked her more than the guys because she lived there. Clint's favorite so far was the entrance through the nonexistent pool on the roof.

But he was getting tired of watching these guys try to work Kate over for information — whether or not she was his sidekick, she was  _family_ , after all — so he jumped in too: "Yeah, you're not gonna get them or the mansion, so give it a rest, wouldja?"

"Oh, we don't care about the mansion anymore," the doc said, stepping away from Clint for a moment. "It's not an issue."

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked, her eyes a bit wider than before.

"It's not an issue," he repeated calmly. "We know they're not there."

"Coulda told you that if you watched the news," Clint muttered, though he was watching Kate.

"Some things you have to see for yourself," the doctor said low with a touch of a growl in his voice.

"I don't believe you," Clint said. "No way you've gotten past those systems."

"Me personally, no. But we didn't need to get past the systems once the building was leveled. Sensors showed no significant amounts of adamantium — so they're not there."

"You… leveled the school?" Kate looked panicked now; Clint knew from experience it was impossible to keep up the poker face when your  _kids_ got involved.

"You wouldn't tell me what I wanted to know," the doctor said, turning toward her, his expression and body language clearly predatory.

"Katie, he's just saying that," Clint told her. "You know they'd've shot 'em out of the sky before they got close enough."

"Are you sure?" the doctor said, calmly setting his tools down to walk across the room to an overly large monitor. He typed a few things into a laptop that was attached to it, and in another moment or two, photos of the mansion appeared — at night, destroyed and on fire.

Kate let out a shout and strained against the restraints holding her in place. "You're going to wish you'd never been born by the time I'm done with you," she spat at the doctor.

"I'm terrified," he said in a monotone. "Where are they?"

"Bite me," she sneered.

"Horrible manners," the doctor said as he made his way back to Clint. But as he got close to Clint, Wade let out a loud guffaw.

"You … that ... that is so  _old!_ " Wade said, laughing and shaking his head. "That was like ... ten years ago!  _THOSE_ are the same pictures that the  _Bugle_  printed. Amateur."

Clint looked positively triumphant as he grinned Kate's way — though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't relieved, too. "See, told ya. Liars, all of 'em," he said, and she very obviously let out a breath of relief. Clint could see that she was only just keeping herself from crying, and it only had him angrier when he saw it. No one could make Kate cry and get away with it — these guys were  _dead._

"Hey Katie-bug," Wade called out. "How do you know a Weapon X doc is lying to you?"

She raised an eyebrow his way and just shook her head. "When he  _talks_?" she offered, clearly trying to latch onto his joking to get it together.

"There you go," Wade said, nodding approvingly. "You're a natural." He turned toward the doctor and shouted to his back as he tried to keep his composure. "So now what? We know you're fulla crap and we're not giving up the goods, why don't you just tell  _us_ why you want them so bad? It's not like you could control them or work with them for any amount of time before."

"Not a real capture until we get to the monologuing," Clint agreed with a smirk.

"Yeah, what  _he_ said," Wade shouted in a very childish tone. "You're supposed to be top shelf. You're Weapon X, man — and you're being out-villained by Norman Osborn and the like. Loser!"

"And what about Elin?" Kate asked suddenly, her tone sharp and angry and one that Clint had heard K take when it came to the kids. "Why're you so interested in her too?"

"Which one is that?" the doctor asked.

She blinked at him for a second and then sucked in a breath. "Um. No," she said, quickly realizing her mistake of getting too caught up in where her own head was — with the kids.

The doctor turned toward her and started to walk over slowly. "How many ferals are you harboring and hiding?"

"We're  _not_ ," she said, shaking her head and almost shrinking back from him. "Watch the news. JJ's actually telling the truth since we kicked you out."

But the doctor seemed to get entirely too smug, sure that he'd found the way in — through Kate. "I think … you can use a little time with our telepaths."

"I think you can shove it," she shot back.

The doctor made a call at his desk before he made his way back to Clint and started breaking things again. Not asking questions, not trying to get anything out of him ... just … making sure he was hurting as much as possible. Wade was shouting at him to stop, citing every endangered species that he could and noting that the noble Hawk-guy was one of 'em. And Kate was just as loud, yelling at the doctor about how useless he was and insulting his looks, his parentage, anything she could think of.

But the doctor didn't stop — and even seemed encouraged by the others' fury — and when he ran out of fingers on Clint, he headed toward Kate, clearly intending to start higher up as he'd promised, since he was bringing a tray of tools and grinning widely. "Right or left?" he asked.

"Um ... option C," she muttered, her gaze on the tray and then on Clint. "Since you asked."

"That's both," he replied with a little laugh as he picked up a suddenly much more intimidating-looking lump of stainless steel and placed it on the joint of her right shoulder. "Right first then." He gave her a smirk and then shoved her hard, dislocating her shoulder between the steel and the table she was strapped to with a muffled pop.

When Kate screamed, Clint lost his temper. "Thought you wanted the healing Hawkeye?" he shouted, pulling fruitlessly against the restraints. "Didn't take you for a coward going after a restrained girl."

"I  _have_  the healing Hawkeye," the doctor replied. "You're not going anywhere. But for the sake of research ... I need a control subject." He headed toward Clint and gave him a cocky smirk before he dislocated the same shoulder.

"Coward," Clint spat out through his teeth, though he was clearly hurting with the dislocation and broken bones together.

"All in the name of science," he replied. "More or less."

"Which means not at all," Kate called out, though by that time, Clint could see that there were tracks down the side of her face where she'd started to cry despite her best efforts. "Creep. Even Sinister was at least a  _scientist_."

"Just wait until the bamfmaster gets a hold of you, you slimy worthless little prick!" Wade shouted. "He's going to make you wish you'd never laid a finger on her. And it's gonna happen sooner than you think."

"Better run now before the demon comes to play," Kate sang out.

The doctor chuckled and turned to pick up another instrument — when he nearly ran into a poof of brimstone as Kurt arrived almost on cue. He took only a second to take in the scene before he lunged forward, attacking the doctor with a snarl.

Scott was there too — holding back the guards as his distinctive-sounding zap echoed the hall into the room the three captives were held in. Which meant that no one was going to interrupt their view of Kurt making sure the doctor paid for his sadism — until Daken made his presence known too, gingerly stepping around the brawl as he crossed the room.

"I guess I'm supposed to let you loose then," Daken said in a bored tone as he headed to Kate first.

"You can tear apart someone else," she promised him without looking his way, her gaze on her clearly furious husband.

He looked over his shoulder for a moment before he ran his hand along the bottom of the table to find the release. "It is a good show." When the shackles sprang open, he offered his hand to help her upright before he lazily made his way to Clint. "You look like shit."

"Oh good — I thought he messed up my roguish looks for a second there," Clint replied.

"That was wrecked years ago," Daken told him as he released his shackles too, though he didn't offer his hand like he'd done with Kate — and Kate was behind Daken to push past him with her good shoulder to pull Clint up instead.

"You alright, Hawkeye?" she asked.

"I'm always fine," he replied with a grin meant to reassure her as much as it was a way to keep himself from thinking about the familiarity too much.

"OOH OOH! My turn, my turn!" Wade shouted, and Daken looked to the hawks for a moment and let out a sigh before he rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Don't jump up at once," Daken said. "I guess this is my job today." He trudged over to Wade, who had gone very, very still. "Any permanent injuries?"

"Nope!" he said cheerfully. "Just my eyes; they're sore. And you're a sight for 'em!"

Daken stopped and looked at him for a moment before he let out a sigh. "That was terrible." He shook his head and pulled the release on the table, freeing Wade up to immediately jump up and wrap Daken up in a hug.

"Look at you all grown up and playing on the right side!" he said in an exaggerated tone before he pinched Daken's cheek like a proud uncle would do.

Daken tried to push him away, but when he couldn't shake him, he simply popped his claws in Wade's side — though that did nothing at all to deter the enthusiastic hello.

"So  _that's_ genetic too!" Wade said, looking down at himself. "Huh. Who knew you could pass on stab-Deadpool genes? I didn't know they were a thing til just now!"

"Don't," Daken warned.

Wade grinned and draped his arm over Daken's shoulders. "Thanks for the save, oh nephew mine. Now let Uncle Wade handle these baddies. Don't trash the place yet — we have  _clues_ to find!"

"I'm blowing the building up — if Cyclops doesn't level it first," Daken told him as he tried to shrug Wade off of him.

"Oh, no no no — we came all this way to get information. Gotta get that first. THEN the big boom." He patted Daken's shoulder consolingly. "I know you need your destruction. I promise you'll get it, tough guy. But today's character-building lesson, small bear, is patience!"

"What are you—" But Wade grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him along as he went searching through whatever offices were nearest.

By that time, Kurt had almost finished teaching the Weapon X doctor a lesson, and with Clint up and on his feet, Kate rushed to him to put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey,  _gut aussehend._ The scary hell demon thing is really hot and all, but you're supposed to also kiss your princess."

He was panting from the exertion of beating on the doc as he straightened up and looked between Kate, Clint, and the doctor. "Would you like to kick him for a while?" Kurt asked Clint.

"'Bout all I can do — but sure, yeah. I may see what I can break you haven't already," Clint said, more as a way to let Kate get some time with Kurt than anything else.

Kurt glanced at the doctor one last time before he swept Kate into a very passionate kiss, only to growl out to her when it was over, "You have terrible timing."

"Well, I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry if you're gonna kiss me like  _that_ ," she said, almost breathlessly. She bit her lip, cleared her throat, and straightened the slightest. "Okay. Let's tear this place apart."

Just then, Wade and Daken reappeared, in a cloud of smoke and surrounded by Kurt's bamfs, all of them holding armloads of papers or various bits of intel in their arms. Except for the one on Daken's shoulders that was determined to make his mohawk lay  _just so._

"Kurt — we should get them out of here — and finish this job," Scott called out on seeing the little group with all the intel.

"Agreed," Kurt said, before he simply took hold of both Hawkeyes on their good sides and teleported them to safety — using Daken's apartment for the moment as he paused only long enough to make sure that they were both alright. With a troublemaking glare, he teleported back to help Scott destroy the place, letting out a little more of his frustration as the little bamfs took Wade and Daken out. The destruction went on until Kurt and Scott teleported out shortly afterward — as the building was starting to come down around them.

When they appeared in Daken's place, Daken looked both X-Men over with a wary eye. "Are you done now?" Daken asked.

"For the moment," Kurt replied as he headed for Kate.

"With that group," Daken specified, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and already punching in a number.

Scott looked at the bamfs with the papers and such — and then spotted the box of videotapes Wade had grabbed and started to smirk. "This everything?" he asked, and when Wade nodded, he looked to Daken. "Looks like we're done."

"Good," Daken replied before he pushed the send button— and behind him, they could see through the large picture window the explosion in the distance. "How long are you all planning to be houseguests, then?"

"I just needed someplace to take them while we finished with that group," Kurt assured him. "We're leaving — we need to get these two to medical attention anyway," he added, one arm around Kate as he frowned at her injuries.

Daken nodded at that. "Tell my father he needs to get back here if he ever shows his face again. Unless you need me to find him for you." He smirked a bit Kurt's way.

"I'll be sure to tell him when next I see him," Kurt said with a little nod and a sharp look before he disappeared with both Hawkeyes to the mansion and Celia — while the bamfs took Scott and Wade along with all of the intel back to the bunker.

"Nat get back from Belarus yet?" Clint asked before Celia could even start examining him. "Surprised she wasn't with you."

"Honestly," Celia said, shaking her head. "She'll show up when she gets here. Tell me what happened." She was already pulling over the portable X-ray machine as he smirked her way.

"Lost a fight with an alley cat," he teased.

She let out a sigh. "So usual Thursday morning, then?" She put her hand on his good shoulder and had him straighten his arm for an IV.

"Don't let him put you off — that creepo doc was breaking bones," Kate called out.

"I noticed from all the swelling and purple where there should be none," she replied, shaking her head at him. "Dislocated shoulder … broken fingers. Anything else?" She was already measuring out the painkillers.

"Check his ribs," Kate instructed before Clint could say anything. "Actually, just check everything. That freaky Weapon X doc was having …  _fun_."

"I know how they work," Celia said with a sigh. "So. I'm going to make the pain go away — and put you to sleep for the worst of this."

"Just fix the fingers, doc," Clint told her.

"This is not an ala carte menu, Mister Barton. I'll fix whatever is wrong."

"Just tell me you can fix 'em, okay?" he said, this time a bit more open.

"Of course I can," she replied. "The color looks good, considering, and you were taken out fairly quickly. I'd guess … within two hours of the breaks?"

"Somewhere around there, yeah," Clint said, now looking a bit self-conscious.

"I'll fix it." She gave him a look and encouraged him to lay back and relax as she gave him some morphine.

"Don't kid me, doc," he said with his eyes slightly narrowed, though he was lying back like she'd asked him to.

"You are so overly dramatic," she said as she set up the X-rays. "I'll look at the pictures in two minutes. Just give them time to develop."

"He can't help it," Kate said, rising to Clint's defense with a frown. "We… need our hands."

"And I am very good at what I do," Celia assured her.

"Fix her shoulder too," Clint said, tipping his head at Kate. "Don't go babying me, Katie. You got a flock of hawkeyes to teach."

"I will," Celia said. "Another dislocation. Should be easy enough. Especially after the muscle relaxers take effect on you both."

Celia had set up both of the Hawkeyes, who kept trying to check on each other out of concern for the archery-stopping injuries, and was well on her way to getting them both fixed up when Natasha did finally arrive from Belarus, a thunderous look on her face as she went first to Kurt and stuck her index finger in the center of his chest.

"You call me when my  _muzh_ is hurt, and you come get me to hurt the ones who did it," she told him.

He nodded and let out a sigh. "I was caught up in the moment," he admitted. "But I promise you I broke everything that could be broken on that man."

"Good," she said with a short nod before she slipped over to where Clint was definitely dopey on the morphine Celia had given him. He broke into a wide grin on seeing her and tried to sit up a bit, reaching for her with his good arm to try and pull her down to where he was despite his well-wrapped fingers.

She paused and looked him over, the fury obvious as she saw what had happened to him, before she pushed his arm away. "Don't hurt what needs healing," she told him as she slipped off her shoes and crawled into the bed with him, on his good side, taking his head in her hands to kiss his forehead before she pulled his head beneath her chin and settled in to rest there.

* * *

And while the rescued members of the team were all being seen to, Scott found himself taking a moment in the bunker to get his breath before he even started to go over the intelligence that the team had recovered.

For some reason, he was having a harder time getting his breath than usual, and his heart was racing faster than usual. So much so that he ended up having to sit down just to keep from ending up flat.

"You okay Mr. Cyclops, sir?" Wade asked, his head tipped to the side.

Scott waved a hand at him. "Fine," he said.

"You don't look fine. You're all pale and sweaty … well. More sweaty than before."

Scott closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, resting a hand on his chest — and while he could feel the quick heartbeat, now that he was seated, he did feel like he was able to get a breath better.

Wade made his way over to drop into the seat next to Scott and then took a hold of his wrist. "And how far apart are the contractions?"

Scott rolled his eyes and yanked his arm away from Wade. "I'm  _fine_ ," he repeated. "Overdid it, that's all."

"I hear you, but … you are also lying? So …" he started to dig around in one of his pouches, and he didn't stop until he came out with a small first aid kit. "I know I have something in here …"

"Wade… no," Scott said, shaking his head.

"AH! Here!" he proudly handed him a small packet of aspirin. "You need that. If the whole … pale sweaty … fine thing is what it looks like." He shrugged. "Of course … if you ignore it and you pass out I'll have to give you mouth to mouth until you revive…. Could take hours."

" _Don't_ ," Scott said, pushing Wade back at the shoulders. "I'm fine. I just needed to sit down."

Wade crossed his arms and pouted for a moment. "Listen. I know you don't like me, but I like you. And I don't want anything unfortunate to befall my favorite first X-Man. So if this 'fine' isn't really 'fine' I'm gonna need a signal of some sort so you can say that you're fine as I'm carrying you to help. Maybe like a extra wink — no. that won't work. Maybe … maybe like … do you know semaphore? I have a pair of flags somewhere I'm sure ... "

"It's not going to be an issue," Scott said, tipping his head back and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm  _fine_ ; I told you i'm fine." And by that point, he really was feeling better, his heart rate slowing down and his breathing a little easier.

Wade watched him for a moment and when he spoke again his tone was much much quieter. "Okay. If you don't want my help. Fine."

Scott drew his hand down his face as he let out a long sigh. "I don't need any help, Wade. At all." He got to his feet, still a little pale but at that point more annoyed than anything else. "I'm just going to grab some food and a water bottle. Probably a bad idea to run on coffee for three days straight."

"Sure, sure," he said. "I'll just get to work. Mind my own business."

"Let me know if you find anything," Scott said. He paused, let his shoulders drop, and knew Kate would never let him live it down if he didn't add  _something_. "Sorry to scare you. Annie will be glad to hear someone overreacted and got concerned in her absence."

"I didn't overreact," Wade said before he darted over and bear hugged him. "But we're still gonna need a system. Maybe I should make sure I carry a Snickers bar with me?"

Scott pushed Wade back as best he could, though Wade was pretty well attached. "If it would make you feel better, fine," he said. "Wade, I really was going to grab food so that doesn't happen again…" he tried when pushing wasn't getting Wade to let go.

"Alright. But if something happens — you better tell me."

"I'm sure if I pass out, you'll know," Scott said, shaking his head as Wade finally let go and he headed to where they had stocked the fridge with plenty of pizza; that's what he got for letting the Hawkeyes run things. He had no idea how Kate dealt with this on a daily basis, but if this was how Wade reacted to a little dehydration and exhaustion, he had to wonder how he'd been when he was captured with Clint and Kate.

Well, at least they had a good defender.


	9. Teeny Tiny Heroes

Kurt was two days late coming back to the island for Logan and K — because he had been loathe to leave Kate after she'd been caught by that Weapon X strike team. And Kate, for her part, was still a bit shaken up and upset over her shoulder and over what they'd done to Clint and over how the interrogator had been able to break through her defenses so easily as soon as her family was involved... so it was difficult to even think about leaving her.

But he  _had_ promised his friends that he would return to K's schedule of hiding places, so he waited until Kate was sound asleep and then teleported to the island with what he hoped was an appropriately apologetic look on his face as he found Logan and K on the beach, wearing very little as they watched Elin splash in a little pool of water that had accumulated in the rocks by the beach.

"You lied," K said to Kurt without looking at him as she leaned back against Logan's chest.

"I didn't mean to," he told her. "I had every intention of keeping my word — but… Kate was hurt during a mission."

She looked his way for a moment. "I had to hurt him just to get some frustration out."

He shook his head, eyes wide. "Don't do that," he said.

"She's exaggerating," Logan promised.

"I did bring some photographic proof if you were mad enough to doubt my word," Kurt said, with a bit of an impish grin, almost cajoling a smile out of them both. "There's a particularly lovely picture of Natasha and Clint; he was hurt too, and she still hasn't left the hospital bed."

"Couple hawks with broken wings, eh?" Logan said as K shifted and he sat up a bit straighter.

"That's actually pretty accurate," Kurt agreed. He broke into a wider smile. "And, you should know ... I think you may yet win the bet, the way Natasha has been with her new husband."

"Of course I will," Logan said. "Plenty of time for me to be right."

"Well, these things do take time," Kurt said with a little smile. "Or so I'm told."

"I wouldn't know," Logan replied with a low rumble and the two men shared a troublemaking look that had K letting out a scoff.

"You're both ridiculous," K said as she got to her feet. "Keep an eye on her. I'm going to find a shirt." She left the two men watching over Elin, who was quick to bring a seashell to Kurt with a wide grin.

" _Danke_ , Elin. It's beautiful," he told her before he swept her up to give her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She curled into him and kissed his cheek with a little giggle before she wriggled from his grasp and headed back to her pool to find more shells.

"I think she likes it here," Kurt said with an impish grin over at Logan.

"I swear to God, Elf — you're trying to get me killed." He let out a sigh and shook his head. "And I don't mean by Weapon X."

"Then at least you'd die happy," Kurt teased. "What a lovely executioner you've married."

Logan grinned and nodded his head slowly at that. "If that's how she'd execute me, I won't even fight her."

"Do you know where you'll go next?" Kurt asked, looking out over the waves.

"Yeah," Logan said quietly. "She's got a place picked out that's built into the side of a hill. Said all you can see of it from outside is the chimney, and that's only when you're on top of it."

"Sounds perfect," Kurt agreed. "And hopefully ... it will be the last place. I meant it, Logan; we  _are_ getting close."

He scoffed and got to his feet. "Okay, sure."

"Really. I think Scott actually got a full four hours' sleep yesterday," Kurt chuckled.

"Yeah? Doin' better than I am."

"Ah, but you're losing sleep for an entirely different reason," Kurt said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Right — until she gets bored with me," Logan said before he gave a little whistle, and Elin looked up at him with a grin, carrying a shell in each hand as she toddled up toward them. "What was it you said you were doin', exactly, that's got Scotty losin' sleep?"

Kurt gave his best friend a sideways glance but pointedly refused to answer as Elin made it to the two of them. " _Schatzi!_ You are very good at finding shells," Kurt said with a little laugh as he crouched down and ruffled her hair.

"Chance. Char-lee," Elin said slowly but clearly as she pushed the shells into his chest.

He beamed at her and nodded. "I'll make sure Chance and Charlie get them. Charlie will love to have a present like her brother," he said.

She gave him an almost shy smile as she peeked up at him with wide eyes and started to open and close her hands. "Up?"

He swept her up in a hug and then, with an impish grin, threw her up in the air to catch her again. "Yes, of course." When he caught her, he pulled her into a hug. "I think we'll have to come back to the beach for summer holidays, and you can show Krissy how to find pretty shells,  _ja_?"

" _Ja_ ," she replied with a serious nod as she nestled into the crook of his neck.

He laughed at that. "And you should teach her German,  _Sch_ _ä_ _tzchen_."

"It'd be mixed with Swedish," Logan said. "That was a two-fer."

"And likely Kree, Japanese, Mandarin… the house will be full of multilingual little ones."

"She likes to learn it," Logan replied with a shrug as the three of them made their way up to the little house.

"She's very clever. She gets it from both of you," Kurt agreed.

When K stepped out to see them again, she'd found some clothes and managed to pull her hair back out of her face. "You. Are an instigator." She was pointing at Kurt with narrowed eyes.

"I am a delight," he replied with an easy smile. "But what have I instigated?"

She narrowed her eyes further and picked Elin out of his arms to get her dressed too. "Co. Conspirator."

"I'm still not sure what I'm conspiring to do," he laughed.

"Dropping us off here knowing damn well all the clothes we had were for very cold winter weather," K said as Elin snuggled into her and gave her a hug.

"She's just mad because she realized she'll be going from eighty degree weather back down to the twenties or less," Logan said. When Kurt still looked like he didn't understand what the problem was, K let out a fairly theatrical sigh and let her shoulders droop.

"Meaning I'll be curled up in bed trying to stay warm. Probably making my beloved curl up with me and searching for ways to stay warm," K finished.

Kurt broke into a wide grin. "Oh no," he said in as serious a tone as he could manage. "That sounds horrible."

"You know what? Just for that? I  _am_ going to break your brother here," she promised as she got Elin bundled up.

"Please don't break him too badly. We need him around. Krissy is trying to crawl, and soon I'll need his help keeping track of her," Kurt said, shaking his head.

"Learn to cope with your army of little blue demons," she told him as he handed her the little stack of pictures. She pulled a face on seeing Kate and Krissy curled up — with the number of bandages on Kate. "I thought she said she wasn't like her brother?"

"She likes to think so — but you should have seen them when we came back from their last mission. They'd both been hurt, and it was enlightening watching them try to push each other in front of the doctor first," he replied, shaking his head.

She looked up at him and bit her lip as Logan left to dress for the upcoming weather. "Okay. I have a little homework for you," K said as she pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote out something in German for him. "It's in code. If you can crack it, I'll be  _nice_ next time."

"Then I'll have to crack it before I come back," he agreed. "So that you can be in a good mood when I take you back home."

She huffed a bit at that. "You need to stop that," she said.

"I'm afraid I can't," he told her. "I can't stop having faith that this will work out — and if you could see what your friends and family are doing, you would too."

"Why don't you tell me about it?" K said, watching him with no small amount of scrutiny.

"I'll tell you everything before I take you home," he promised.

"I don't like surprises," she told him. "I'd rather know now what you nutjobs are up to."

"Neither do I — and yet it feels like some of our best breakthroughs come that way," he chuckled to himself, though not quite with the same sparkle in his eyes.

When Logan came back to the room, she rolled her shoulders and nodded lightly. "Historically, trusting that it'll all just work out... doesn't," she said. "This place we're headed to ... five days. It's no good for more than that, so if you miss it — we'll be gone by dawn of day six."

"I'll be there," he promised. "With Kate resting up, I don't anticipate any more surprises."

"Five days. Miss this one and you'll only have another German code waiting for you."

"Then I'll be doubly sure to break the code for my homework by then," he said. "Just to be safe." With that, he put a hand on each of their shoulders and teleported the little family to their next little hideaway.

* * *

After the raid, it took a full five days before anyone had the  _time_ to even get to the bunker for any research. Kurt had stuck with Kate as much as possible, as she and Clint were both in rotten moods due to their injuries. And as much as Scott wanted to dive into it, he'd barely gotten what they'd stolen half organized into some semblance of order when Annie made the executive decision for him to  _stop_ and sleep — going so far as to threaten him with a trip to Celia to be put out for a couple of days if he didn't take a break for his own sanity. It was entirely likely that Wade had told her about his own worries for Scott's health, too.

Scott had grudgingly agreed, though just as he was prepping to leave after a few days of listening to Annie, Chance and Charlie got a hold of him to show him the presents they'd made for Gerry.

"Happy birth-day, Gerry," Charlie told him, pulling on his hand. "Gotta go with," she informed him.

Scott obediently followed the two of them so that he could see the cards that Annie had helped them make, and he made appropriately awed noises of their loving creations — but when he tried to go again, Charlie stuck both hands on her hips.

"No, Daddy," she told him sternly. "Gotta see  _Gerry_."

He took one look at the little girl with her most determined look on and let out a sigh before he had to give in. There was no way he could say no to her, really. So, he ended up driving them out to Jess's place for the party, with both Charlie and Chance in the backseat the entire time excitedly talking about how much fun they were going to have.

By the time they arrived, Kate and Kurt were already there with Krissy — having taken the brimstone express — and of course, while Kamala had insisted on playing with her favorite little purple baby, Cap was already teasing the Hawkeyes about their matching patch-up jobs.

As soon as Gerry saw his best friend, he dashed over to give Chance and big hug — and then hugged Charlie too, for good measure. "Come pway," he instructed both of them, grabbing each of them by the hands. "Dani gaved me  _race cars_."

The twins willingly let Gerry pull them over to play. It was clear he had prepared for them, because he had the cars all set out and gave Chance a shiny red one, and Charlie got one that looked just like it but in blue. "Aunt Katie says Krissy's too little," he explained, pointing at a purple car with a very disappointed look on his face before he brightened a bit. "But Elin coming?"

At that, Charlie glanced over at Chance, who was frowning hard. But when she grabbed her brother's hand, he pushed her off and took a very big breath as he squared his little shoulders and set his jaw. "Pway wace cars," he instructed the other two and set the example by rolling his car along the ground almost like it was a mission.

Gerry frowned and then looked over at Charlie. "Chance is sad?" he asked, and when Charlie nodded, he ran over and wrapped up his best friend in a hug and pulled on his arm. "Mommy made  _cake_ and  _ice cream_. We can have some now. No waiting."

Chance looked him over skeptically before he sat back on his heels. "O..tay."

Gerry grinned at him and seized him by the hand to pull him along to where Jess was. "Need cake and ice cream!" he announced. "Thanks, Mommy!"

The kids hadn't realized that all the adults in the room were watching the little interaction, so they didn't see the looks they were getting, but Jess crouched down to wrap both little boys in a hug before she nodded. "Alright, let's get out the cake and sing 'Happy Birthday' so everyone can have some."

Gerry nodded and refused to let go of Chance's hand as he pulled his friend along and tried to get him to help blow out the three little candles too, so that by the time the cake and ice cream was served, both of them were at least in better moods as they moved on to trying to eat their sweets without either of their moms interfering to try and keep them from getting  _too_ sticky.

The presents had been opened, and the kids were playing, laughing and goofing around as they should have been to start with, when there was a knock at the door. Jess made a face, since she wasn't expecting anyone else, and she gave the kids a final glance before she headed to answer it — totally shocked when she saw the familiar fuzzy blue grin on the other side.

"I hope we're not too terribly late," Hank said as she threw her arms around his neck in a hug. "But we did bring a few things for Gerry."

"DOCTOR FUZZY!" Gerry shouted at the top of his lungs when he saw Hank, and the other little ones broke into giggles as well as they ran over to hug his legs — it was clear they missed the ferals who had been in hiding. They were sure to also get Tyler, who was standing just behind Hank with a little grin.

Hank scooped Gerry up and tossed him in the air as he wished the little hawk a happy birthday. When Gerry was properly winded from laughing and getting tossed nearly to the ceiling, Hank simply made the rounds with all the little ones, though Tyler had gotten dragged into the game as well, and there were many shouts from the kids on who had the better thrower.

As the two of them joked and played with the kids, Annie pulled Daisy in and gave her a long, tight hug. "We're glad to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Daisy said with a smile. "We missed you all."

Most of the partygoers went to greet the newcomers, but little Dani pulled her dad aside with a thoughtful look. "So ... are Wolvie and K coming home too?"

Luke took in a breath and looked over at Cyclops for a moment. "Not yet," he said quietly.

She pushed out her bottom lip. "How come? Are they far away?"

"We still need to fix a few things before they can come back," he told her. "If we want them to stay, that is."

"That's not fair," she said, her nose scrunched up.

"Cyclops and Hawkeye and a few other people are trying to make it fair."

"Can I help when I'm bigger?" she asked, seeming to brighten up a bit.

"Hopefully, it'll be fixed by then," he told her with a little smile. "But you can help now — if you keep those little kids smiling and thinking about other things."

She looked over at where the other kids were still playing with Hank and Tyler and nodded before she gave Luke a little hug and bounced off to go play with them.

He stood up and made his way over to Scott. "I didn't just lie to my little girl, did I?"

Scott shook his head. "We're working on it. And honestly, I think we're close — I swear." He tried not to sound too optimistic, since they still hadn't really delved into what they had gotten in their last raid, but given the way the kids were acting, it was hard not to at least  _try_ to look toward a better future.

"Well, hurry it up," Luke said. "And if you need an extra hand, bustin' skulls? You know where to find me. I need a chance to win my money back from that hairy little punk."

Scott snorted out a little laugh and nodded. "Seems like we've got just about everyone on this side of the country offering a hand, but I've got your number," he promised.

When the kids had gotten tired of the tossing game, they had simply mobbed Hank and had made a dog pile on the furry blue doctor. While they were all trying to be the one to win, Tyler backed away and glanced over to where the two Hawkeyes were very obviously discussing matters between themselves — heads together and trying to be sneaky.

He shook his head when he saw that both of them were pretty heavily bandaged and crossed the room and put his hand out. "Okay, who's first?"

"Oooh, yes, I've got to hug my favorite NYU student," Kate teased as she rushed over to wrap him in a one-handed hug. "We have  _so_  missed you."

"I can see that," Tyler replied as he half crushed her in a bear hug. "How long did you wait for us to leave before you … dislocated that shoulder?"

She made a horrible face and looked back at Clint, who was wearing almost the exact same expression. "Oh this — this is recent? Just like, a week ago."

"Yeah. That … doesn't make me feel any better. Come on, let's fix it. Apparently, I can't leave you two for ten minutes without you breaking your wings," Tyler teased.

She rolled her eyes and laughed at him before she tipped her head toward one of the back rooms. "Okay, but not in front of the kids," she said.

"I spent two hours trying to find the right present for Gerry's birthday; I'm not going to wreck it by making him think I'm mutilating you two in the living room."

"He'd try to fight you," Clint said with a proud sort of smirk. "He keeps asking when he can be a real Hawkeye."

"What'd you tell him?" Kate asked.

"I told him he has to hit a bullseye with the toy bow before he can get a real one, and  _then_ we'll talk," Clint said, still looking proud.

"That's cute," Tyler said. "I got him an X-Men uniform. So he can be like Kate."

Kate beamed with delight and stood on her toes so she could reach to ruffle his hair. "That. Is. Perfect," she said. "You're such a sweetheart."

Tyler smiled at her and dropped his gaze until they were behind closed doors so he could fix her up. "This shouldn't take too long. All soft tissue."

She nodded before she tipped her head Clint's way. "He'll be harder, I'm warning you now. Broken bones, Ty."

"He's always harder to deal with," Tyler teased. "I think he takes it as a challenge to come up with new and more disturbing things for me to fix."

"Never gonna get better if you don't challenge yourself," Clint said easily.

"I've been doing a lot of neat stuff," Tyler told him. "Or didn't she tell you about some of the more fun 'challenges'?"

"I heard you fixed up Jubes," Clint said. "Kate told me about that one. And I also heard you got a codename now, Baywatch." He grinned widely at him. "Congrats."

Tyler grinned but didn't miss a beat. "Don't be hateful because I rock the swimsuit."

"Gonna have to do the slow-mo run when you arrive to fights."

"Grow my hair out so I can toss it over my shoulder?"

"Exactly." Clint laughed and leaned back. "Now all we gotta do is find you another blonde… a pretty girl… long hair…" He caught Kate's gaze and grinned wider, though she wasn't joining in as much when she was getting healed up. It still hurt, after all.

Tyler smirked and shook his head. "You are not subtle at all."

"I don't trade on subtlety anymore. Hung up the Ronin threads forever ago," Clint said.

With that, Tyler finished with Kate, who was rotating her arm experimentally as he turned toward Clint. "I meant to ask you about that — the name? Weren't you acting like a ninja or something?"

"Yeah, for a little while. Back when Katie here was Hawkeye for the first time," Clint said.

"You know a ronin is a samurai, not a ninja, right?" Tyler gave Clint a little smirk as he put his hands on him to check him over — and frowned almost immediately.

"Yeah, well, I didn't come up with it. It was Maya's first," Clint told him, watching his expression. "What's up, Baywatch? It's not terminal, is it?"

Tyler chuckled slightly. "It kind of is. You got me thinking about checking for brain damage. I fixed Scott's … but … you don't have any, so I'm not sure what's wrong with you."

"I'm just a delight," Clint told him.

"You're something," Tyler said, laughing a bit to himself as he concentrated. A moment or two later, Clint had to cringe as the bones in his fingers snapped back together one by one. "Sorry, trying to make this easy, but I want it perfect."

"Don't worry 'bout the easy part," Clint said through his teeth as he watched his fingers. "It's gotta be perfect — or I gotta hang up the purple threads."

"They were pretty much there; there were just a few spots with some swelling that didn't want to cooperate," Tyler told him as he moved on to fix the tissue in Clint's shoulder. "Ribs are already in line. Might tickle."

Clint nodded once. "Don't hold back, doc — how long've I got to live?" he teased.

"Oh, man. Yikes," Tyler said as Clint had to hold his breath — the ribs were lined up, but the rapid healing wasn't pleasant. "Maybe … forty, fifty years? Condolences to your wife." He grinned at Clint just a moment as he finally sat back and picked up his hands. "How's it feel?"

Clint held out his hands for a moment and did a few finger exercises and then rolled his shoulder and arm before he grinned at Tyler. "Feels like new, thanks," he said.

"Heads up," Tyler told him, perfectly straight-faced. "Keep breaking stuff like that, and you're going to get arthritis."

Clint pulled a face at him. "You're talking to the weird Hawkeye, remember? Richards said that ain't happening."

Tyler shrugged and tipped his head to the side, his eyes on Clint's shoulder. "I can only go by what I can 'see'."

Kate reached over to ruffle Tyler's hair. "Quit picking on him and give me another hug. The first one was one-handed — and this is a  _shame_ , Tyler. A shame."

He grinned and swept her well off the floor into a spinning hug. "Is that better?" When her feet hit the ground, he didn't even hesitate to snatch up Clint too for the same treatment. "So you can't say I'm playing favorites."

"Now  _that's_ what I expect from you when you're gone for so long," Kate agreed with a wide grin. "Now, c'mon, we've monopolized you way too long. And Clint has to go play with Gerry."

When the three of them rejoined the party, Kate had to laugh, because Gerry had already put on the X-Men uniform that Tyler got for him, and he was telling anybody who would listen about how he was gonna be an X-Man  _and_ a Hawkeye. "Just like Aunt Katie!" he insisted, then waved at her when he saw that she and Clint had emerged.

"Typical," Clint said, shaking his head at both Tyler and Kate before he rushed over to pick up Gerry and start tickling him and playing with him as the little guy squealed with delight on getting to play with his dad without having to worry about all the bandages.


	10. Proof Positive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Kurt gets his tail twisted over K's note and the team finally hits paydirt.

It wasn't until after Gerry's party that the determined group of friends in Tony's bunker finally had the time to get started sorting through all the intel — though Wade had been there for a while already and had everything set up with food and coffee and had also finished transcribing all the old tapes to digital formats. That way, they could go through the videos on laptops so Natasha could try to enhance the video quality where necessary.

Scott immediately went to the nearest laptop to start going through some of the old videos, sure that this would be their best shot, considering how the last one had gone, while Kate also grabbed up a laptop to curl up on the couch. Though first, she had to give Krissy her bottle and settle her down after all the excitement of the birthday party.

And Kurt made his way over to Natasha with a little smirk on his face. "I know I didn't give you more than a day or so, but did you get that code broken? I have to move them before they disappear again."

She matched his smirk and nodded. "I'm familiar with her training, so I had a place to start," she told him before she handed him back the scrap of paper with the decoded message on it:  _You can't go home_.

Kurt looked over the message, alarmed, and almost didn't even think about it before he simply teleported right to where he'd left Logan and K — to make sure they hadn't gone without him, since he was half afraid the message was a goodbye.

"Welcome back," K said over her shoulder on his appearance. "We're set to leave the hobbit hole. Elin just has to wake up from her nap."

He blinked at her in relief for just a moment on seeing that they hadn't left before he let out a cry of frustration and shoved the scrap of paper her way. "What's this supposed to mean?" he half growled at her.

She looked from the note to him and sighed. "Just what it says."

"You're  _not_ giving up," he said. He meant to ask it as a question, but he was so upset that it ended up coming out as more of an accusation and a demand all at once. "Not now!"

She let her shoulders drop as she took in his frustrated expression. "Until I see otherwise, it's an option we can't take off the table," she said calmly. "And you have to admit — the way things look right now? I'll be surprised if they haven't sent someone out to bring us in proactively."

"That's only what they're saying on the news," he said. "Things are looking better."

"You haven't said anything but your positive daisies blooming in the snow outlook," she replied. "All I have to go on is what's in front of us. We don't  _want_ to walk away, but we will."

"Tyler and Hank came back," he told her. "They were at Gerry's birthday party."

"Tyler and Hank were never doing the work we've done," Logan said as he stepped into the room. "So I'm glad they didn't get lynched. Yet."

"Tyler is still staying indoors a bit more," Kurt admitted.

"Can't say as I blame him," Logan said. "But that boy stayin' cooped up isn't good."

Kurt grinned as he leaned forward. "Well, he's been spending the last few months with his new stepfather and his mother."

Logan gave Kurt a subdued little smile. "Glad to hear it. Those two were pretty .. not sneaky. I think he needed the excuse to make a big change."

"To hear him tell it, it was already in the plans. This just… sped things along," Kurt said, with an obvious smirk.

"Well, speaking of changing plans," K said, flat ignoring the looks the two men were giving each other. "Take us away to somewhere with a Superior view."

Kurt raised his eyebrows at that. "Really? You've already been there once."

"Yes, and I like to bounce around a bit, double back, that kind of thing," she told him. "I'd use one of Logan's spots, but I have the sneaking suspicion that most of them are known to someone or another. The next move is out of the country. So you know."

"And I know you've heard me say it often, but hopefully, there will not  _be_ a next move."

"Daisies in the snow," K replied as she left the two of them to go pick up Elin.

"As Logan will tell you, I  _did_ marry a little ray of sunshine," he teased.

"And apparently, he married an executioner. You are loud, you know that, right? Don't make me kill your friend. I like him. I'd like to  _keep_ him."

"I've been told I can project well," he said with a smirk. "I am the drama teacher. Though you're just as dramatic, you know."

"You're picking a fight," Logan told him.

"I did nothing of the sort. She sent me with homework, and did you know what the message was?" he asked Logan pointedly.

"Yeah. I helped her pick it out."

" _Sie Idiot_!"

"Seemed fitting," Logan defended. "She was sure we'd be slippin' out tomorrow."

"And you are  _not_ ," Kurt said sharply. "You're going back to the cottage,  _temporarily_ , and then you are coming  _home_."

"We'll see."

" _Nicht mit mir streiten, wenn ich Recht habe_ ," Kurt replied with an obvious glare.

"When you're right, then I'll quit arguing." Logan gave him a look. "Until then — the message wasn't wrong; you're just taking it personally. Take it as philosophical if it gets your dander up."

" _L_ _ä_ _cherlich_." He scoffed at Logan and shook his head. "I am right, and you're just... " He threw up his hands.

"Also right."

"No. You're just…  _stur_."

"Home isn't a place, Elf. Relax. You're going to get your tail twisted." Logan gestured to the chairs in the living room near the dying fire. "I'm serious. Relax."

"I  _had been_  before I knew what the message said," Kurt said, though he did follow Logan to the chair. "Taking care of Kate, attending Gerry's birthday party."

"You were with the people that make your home," Logan pointed out with a little smirk.

"And that make yours," Kurt replied without missing a beat. "I have to deal with Jubilee and Natasha every time I come back, you know. They can't ask enough questions about how you are."

"Figured they'd know the drill by now," he replied, looking at the ground.

"They do — which is why they ask," Kurt replied before he leaned forward. "Though, of course, there's also Elin that they always ask about. She changes more than you do."

"She should," he replied. "She's little."

A bit of the teasing spark came back to Kurt's eyes as he said, "A family trait."

"You know it," Logan replied without missing a beat. "How is everyone else? Nothing earth-shattering in the past few days, I hope."

"No, nothing except Tyler fixing up the resident Hawkeyes. Kate was getting tired of people telling her how much she looked like her mentor," Kurt said with the beginnings of a smile.

"Then she should quit doing the same dumbass things he does," Logan said.

"That's a losing battle,  _mein Freund_."

"And a guaranteed full-time job for Tyler."

"Yes, he mentioned that he was just going to have to put them both on his daily schedule," Kurt laughed quietly. He paused to think for a moment before he had to shake his head. "But beyond that and Henry's happy news... nothing earth-shattering. Gerry turned three."

"You'll have to wish Hank well for us," Logan said.

"I already did," Kurt said with a smile. "I knew you would be pleased to hear it — though you'll have to tell him in person soon."

Logan gave him a look that read exactly how unamused he was at that, but didn't say anything further — not wanting to fight with him in case this was the last time they ended up getting together.

"Charlie has taken over running things as well," Kurt said after a moment of silence. "She  _insisted_ that Scott relax long enough to go to the birthday party. We clearly have a new fearless leader."

"Good luck with that," he replied, shaking his head. "Kid's gonna be a monster if it keeps up like that."

"It's only on behalf of others that she gets really stubborn," Kurt laughed. "You should see her with Chance and Gerry. Those two on their own are fun together, but clearly, Charlie is in charge."

"So, more like her mom then," Logan teased.

"Clearly," Kurt said, nodding and chuckling a bit to himself. "She's the one who suggested Chance help Annie make cookies when I came after Valentine's Day."

Just then, K came out with Elin still half asleep and snuggled into her shoulder. "If we're quick, you can probably tuck her in when we get there, and she'll just go back to sleep," K said in a low tone.

Kurt nodded at that and made sure that they were ready to go before he teleported the three of them to K's cottage again, one hand on K's back as always because he knew the teleporting made her dizzy. He'd teleported them right to Elin's room as well, and he smiled at the half-asleep little girl.

She smiled up at him and waved by opening and closing her hand before she snuggled up tighter with the teddy bear and drifted off. K ushered them both out of the room, and Logan simply went to work starting a fire.

"Two weeks," K told him.

He nodded. "I was already planning to come by then," he said, though he couldn't help but frown as he said it. He didn't really like to think that he'd be the only one there when little Elin had her first birthday. "I'll see you then," he said before he could think on it too much and then simply teleported back to the bunker.

When Kurt arrived, Krissy too was sound asleep — and the others were all working very quietly, as Kate had clearly  _just_ gotten her to drift off and didn't want anyone to make a sound that would disturb her and make Kate have to go through the bedtime routine all over again. Scott and Natasha both had a laptop and headphones for the videos, while Clint and Wade were wading through the paper files, and the bamfs were glaring at anyone who made even the slightest of noises that might wake up their little purple elfling — right down to the light rustling of papers or squeak of a chair.

"How'd it go?" Scott asked in a whisper that had the bamfs glaring at him. "Didn't run into any trouble, did you?"

Kurt shook his head as he very carefully slid in beside Kate. "Nothing but two very stubborn friends," he said softly. "And you?" he asked as Kate carefully handed him Krissy so she could finally stretch her legs — it had taken a while to get Krissy to sleep after the excitement of the birthday party.

"Just getting into it now," Scott said. "Little bits of … some kind of training. It's odd. Like they're monitoring every single thing they did. Lots of wires on them everywhere."

Natasha looked up at that with a frown. "Which files are those?" she asked interestedly. "Maybe I can identify some of the techniques."

"Come on over," Scott offered. "The audio is a little fuzzy. They keep talking about leads, and it sounds like they're dictating every move he makes."

"Can you identify him this time, though?" Clint asked as Natasha made her way over. "I mean, it's not like last time?"

"Once you've seen Logan's hairy naked ass, it's hard to forget," Scott joked dryly.

"Then half the country will be able to identify him, the way he goes through uniforms," Clint said, shaking his head.

Natasha leaned over Scott's shoulder as he was going through the video files, the frown only deepening at what she was seeing. "Check something from a later date — see if you can find something deeper," she suggested, only just stopping herself from clicking on the files herself.

Scott tipped the laptop her way. "You know what you're looking for."

She nodded for a moment before she started to search through the videos, muttering little phrases in Russian under her breath until it seemed she'd found what she was looking for. She had only watched about ten seconds in before she let out a string of Russian that Clint recognized from how many missions he'd run with her and was already wincing at. "There," she said with venom in her voice as she tipped the laptop back Scott's way.

"What is it?" he asked, frowning hard.

"Torture," she told him frankly. "You only have to watch what you can stomach — I can take the rest of them — but it's plain enough to prove his identity  _and_ the fact that it wasn't something he went along with willingly." She pointed at the screen, which was paused. "You can see his face, and you can see the codename on their markers." She let out another string of Russian words before she scowled and crossed her arms. "I can identify more of these, but this will get us started — I just need to find one with her as well."

"Alright then," Scott said, though it was obvious he was more than a little surprised — and disturbed. "Was there anything on the file name other than the date? I'll keep digging in some of the newer ones for her."

She pointed at a few numbers and letters. "This set here — I  _think_ — is the indicator for which doctor was running the show, based on the bookkeeping I've seen on some of their other notations. Likely you'll find the same types of things; you know how these types are about their niches."

"Simple enough," Scott replied as he typed in the sequence to search the files on that computer. When the file list came up, it did narrow it down substantially.

Not that it was easy going. Most of what the videos showed was downright horrific, especially considering the healing powers that these guys had to combat to get the torture to stick. But after he had watched a few more pretty horrific torture videos, Scott had to squint for a moment at the way the next one started up.

In stark contrast to the rest of them he'd seen, Logan was not restrained at all and seemed to be just … sitting there, though the leads and wires and whatnot were ever present. Scott frowned as the video continued, the audio a constant stream of chatter from the team running the computers. The 'test' started — and when it did, Scott stopped everything as he realized what he was watching. It was exactly like Logan had said, in as few words as it was possible to get away with. They had  _total_ control over everything. They were making him stand and walk, using his senses through the feed to track while the doctors or scientists or whatever the hell they were calling themselves made him work as if he was nothing more than a marionette.

The test was fairly short. They sent him out into a blizzard, and most of the video from that point was from a camera attached to him. Not fifteen minutes in, he came across a grizzly bear that was clearly drugged up and wired, and the scientists pushed their buttons and typed in codes that let them extend his claws — and fight the bear in a manner that was definitely not how Logan would have operated. It was unnatural, brutish, not at all fluid… And when it was over, the camera angle was wide as Logan simply collapsed to the ground where they left him.

Through it all, Scott had gone completely still, and a little pale — though he kept waving off Natasha's concern as she reiterated her offer to watch anything he couldn't stomach. He stared at the screen for a moment before he just… got mad.

He had to physically push himself back from the table and the laptop and walk away, standing in the hallway with his back turned, his hands in fists, and his eyes screwed shut because he was sure he was right on the verge of blasting something he didn't mean to.

Natasha got to the laptop first and tried to wave away the others, since whatever Scott had seen had clearly upset him, but not a one of them would be deterred as they watched in silence — though it had only taken about a minute of watching before Kurt simply couldn't help but growl out several of his worst German invectives.

When it was over for the second time, Natasha looked to Scott, who had finally turned around to face everyone else but was all but shaking with rage. "This rule the X-Men have against killing — does it require me to tell you about premeditated murder? Because then I won't tell you," she said, her voice level and even but filled with so much poison that it had even Kurt — who looked like he was ready to join her — taking a slight step back.

"I have a few ideas myself," Scott admitted. "And as someone continually tells me — some rules are just begging to be broken."

Kate looked over the group of furious X-Men and Avengers and just… took a breath. "Tell me what files you want me to bring to JJ," she said.

"We have to find hers first," Scott said. "As soon as we find something … similar. We'll put it on a flash drive — and you and Kurt can take it right to him."

"Good. Find that for me, and then Kurt can get his best friend back," she said, grabbing the laptop on the couch. "And we can throw Elin the best welcome home/birthday bash of all time." She glanced at Natasha. " _Then_ premeditated murder."

Natasha let out a sigh as she sat back in her chair. "Fine. But only to get him back. Then, don't get in my way."

"Trust me — I'll help," Kate promised.

"You girls and your  _plans._ " Wade laughed. "You gotta let it come from the heart. Let it flow as it happens. Be one with the murder rage."

"Don't encourage me," Natasha said with a look his way.

"Let it flow …." Wade said, imitating a yoga pose as best he was able. "Open up your right-brained murder mode for optimum creativity. View the abstract ...then poke 'em in the third eye."

"Or I could borrow a few of their ideas and see how they work on meddlesome Weapon X doctors who don't heal," she said simply. "Since they have such a keen scientific interest. I'm sure they'd be interested in my findings."

"Just don't tape it," Wade said. "Someone might dig it up on you years later after everyone forgot about it."

"I'm not worried," she said, the smile widening. "Everyone already knows what I'm capable of. Or at least — they think they do."

With renewed fervor, the group settled in to scour through the videos they had, both excited at how close they were to proving their friends' innocence and completely disturbed by what they were seeing. Even with as much as they'd seen, there were still a few times where one of them would have to get up and just take a break from watching that much gruesome torture and other control methods all at once.

Kate had sat back down on the couch with another cup of coffee — she was going through plenty because it was an excellent excuse to leave the laptop, and as determined as she was to help, she was still the one with the least experience in the room and found herself taking the most sanity breaks.

She opened up the next file on the list and sat up a bit straighter when she saw that this video started the same way the other one had, only K was the one sitting still and having her body controlled by those creeps.

Kate watched long enough to be sure that there was going to be a test and then skipped ahead a few times to get an overview — to be sure it was a full display like Logan's had been of what these guys were capable of — before she called out, "I think I found K's."

In an instant, the others were clustered around the couch to see the video, to verify what Kate had found and to watch to be sure it was enough.

"Not as many wires," Clint muttered. "Guess they were working hard on streamlining the controls."

"They did say they were perfecting their methods," Scott said low. He'd long ago dug out a pair of his old ruby quartz glasses, because he was that mad at this point, and the others could see the red light up a bit as he watched.

When the video had finished playing, Scott turned to Kate. "Copy it to a flash drive," he started to say, but Kate waved him off — she was already doing just that.

"Got the file names for the others ones too," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "And a few others ... just… to give a complete picture," she added, glaring.

Kurt was practically pacing just behind the couch as he waited for the file transfer, and as soon as Kate pulled the flash drive out of the laptop, he didn't wait another second before he took her arm and teleported them straight to JJ's office — though at 3 in the morning, he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Kate went right to the phone to call him from his own desk, not even giving him any preamble once he picked up before she launched into it. "I'm standing in your office. Get dressed. You're coming here now. We have it." She waited long enough to be sure that JJ was awake and listening to her before she added, "I'm sending someone to come get you, so just come outside when you're decent," and then hung up before he could argue with her.

Kurt waited for as long as he was willing to before he teleported out of the office, and Kate tried very hard to sit in a chair, but her leg was bouncing and her foot was jiggling — they'd been working on this for  _months_ , and it was finally,  _finally_ almost over.

When Kurt teleported in with JJ, the old reporter was steaming mad. "Can't you call a cab like a  _normal_ person?" he complained.

"And have someone get a shot at kidnapping you before you see these videos?" Kate said as she waved the flash drive at him.

JJ glared at her for a moment before he sat down at his desk. "This better be worth the wakeup call, Bishop."

"Everything you've wanted," she replied. "Torture, mind control — and more. But I'm not giving it to you until you call me by my name. And if you've changed your mind, I'll take the whole kit 'n' kaboodle to Jessica Jones. She could use a good earth-shattering story too — and I  _like_ her."

He glared at her for a long moment before he almost smirked. "I take it back — you do know what you're doing in the business, Mrs. Wagner," he told her. "I can appreciate that."

She beamed at him and leaned halfway over his desk to drop the drive into his hand. "You're going to have a hard time editing this so you can air it," she told him frankly. "It's… gonna give you nightmares."

"I've been doing this since before you were born," he said as he opened up the drive. But Kate and Kurt shared a look over the desk as JJ started to watch.

For the first time since they'd ever heard of J. Jonah Jameson, he was totally and completely silent and still. He even looked pale, his mouth slightly open.

"We also found the documents that tie their actual names to the codes Weapon X gave them," Kurt said when the silence had hung in the air for a good long while. "Seeing as the codes are the only identification on the videos."

"I think the public can identify them well enough, but I appreciate the thoroughness," JJ said in what was neither a shout or a grumbling mutter; it must have been what his normal speaking voice sounded like.

"How long until this can go public?" Kurt asked, watching him carefully.

"I'd like to get this out in the morning news," he said, wide-eyed. "You were right, Mrs. Wagner — we'll have to edit it. But I want to get this out before they know we have it."

"I'd suggest emailing it to any political contacts you want to have it," Kurt said. "Otherwise, we'll wait for you before we do that."

JJ nodded thoughtfully and grabbed a legal pad to scribble down several names. "These first," he said, pushing it Kurt's way before he started to type out the first of his thoughts. "Now clear out. If I'm getting this out in five hours, I don't need you two looking over my shoulder."

….

Translations from German:

 _Sie Idiot_ \- You idiot!

 _Nicht mit mir streiten, wenn ich Recht habe_ \- Do not argue with me when I'm right

 _L_ _ä_ _cherlich -_ ridiculous

 _Stur_ \- stubborn


	11. Too (Two) Cute Girls

Sying had been particularly horrible that night because he had been so keyed up after the birthday party, and even though he finally went to sleep, he woke up early and was grumpy over not getting enough sleep. So both Noh and Jubilee were down in the kitchen trying to wake up with the first pot of coffee.

"Didn't think you two would be upright this early," Bobby said in a thick voice as he pulled a face with the first sip of his coffee. "What the hell did K do to the coffee when she made it anyhow? It shouldn't be this hard to get right!"

"I do not know, but I'm sorely missing it right now," Noh said with a sigh as Sying continued to grumpily thump his little fists against Noh until Noh let him down so he could scoot around.

Jubilee poured herself a bowl of Sugar Bombs with a yawn as Bobby clicked on the TV as usual, though when she looked up, she almost smirked. "Looks like someone else had a late night too," she muttered, tipping her head at JJ, who was just starting up his morning news.

"He probably slept on his mustache crooked," Bobby said. "Got a wild hair up his nose."

Jubes chuckled and nodded her agreement as Noh slid her a re-filled cup of coffee, though she quickly lost the smile when she saw the lead-in image for JJ's top story — another picture of Logan and K.

"The top story today — and breaking news," JJ said, sounding tired but incredibly pleased, which usually meant it was something juicy. "Recently uncovered video footage of the Weapon X program irrefutably proves that these government-sponsored sadists established complete control over civilians." He leaned forward in his seat. "During the course of today's story, this reporter will explain how the black-ops Weapon X group intended to create unstoppable weapons out of mutants and people alike, and despite politicians trying to put the focus of the blame on the people they captured and endentured, this program violated not only the laws of this country but the laws of human conscience."

"What … what am I seeing right now?" Jubilee half breathed out, a frown on her face. "Rachel, if you're mind controlling me, this is not funny."

"No, I see it too," Noh assured her as JJ went into his disclaimers, warning viewers that the footage was graphic even with his best attempt to edit it for viewing. "It seems Jameson is… defending Wolverine and K."

"Spidey has to see this," she said. "His head will explode, but he has to see this."

"Your wish is my command," Noh said with a nod before he kissed her cheek and zipped off as Bobby hit the record button and rewound the DVR so that they could show Pete the top of the story and he could get the full effect.

When Noh returned with a very sleepy Peter — still pajama-clad — he set Pete down and then set a mug of coffee in front of him. "You should see this," he informed Peter.

"I am so not awake," Peter muttered. "Why do I need to see this?"

Bobby pointed at the TV with the remote. "JJ's… yeah, you just gotta see this," he said before he pressed the 'play' button and JJ's opening monologue started up again. He'd also mentally called out to Rachel, though she, of course, already knew what was going on — having picked her dad's brain anyway.

Peter glared at them all for a moment. "I can watch JJ lose his cool anytime …" But he faded off as he listened to what the man was saying.

Noh and Jubilee and Bobby were mostly watching Peter's jaw drop through what they'd already heard, but then JJ really got into his story, and everyone in the kitchen suddenly found themselves glued to the screen.

They didn't know about any of this. It was all new — and Noh was almost automatically moving to wrap Jubilee up in his arms as she got madder and madder at what she was seeing. Even the edited-for-audiences video clips they were playing were just…  _wrong_.

When the video section was over, JJ reappeared looking battle-worn and deathly serious as he outlined what he could not show on national television for general audiences.

"Where did he  _find_ this?" Bobby asked, almost to himself. He was holding a mug of coffee but hadn't taken a single sip, and when Rachel did finally make her appearance, she simply took it out of his hands and set it aside so that he wouldn't drop it.

"He had to have gotten it from  _them._ " Jubilee was nearly in tears.

Noh gently kissed her neck from behind as he wrapped her up in his arms. "From the program? What could they possibly gain from proving their own evil nature to the world?" he asked softly.

"No," Jubes said, shaking her head. "It had to have been stolen from the program."

Bobby shook his head as the newcast switched to commercial, with JJ promising that he would come back with more on this breaking story. "That's just… those are just clips," he muttered. "That's the tip of the iceberg." He was wide-eyed. "Nobody… nobody knew about  _any_ of this."

"That's because neither one of them ever wanted to  _tell_ anyone," Storm said. She had a hard glint to her gaze as she watched the television, but it wasn't until Scott arrived that anyone who knew it was happening before it happened was there to see the results of their search.

Noh looked up at Scott for a moment. "And now it is nationally known," he said quietly, his head tipped to the side as he seemed to be considering Scott.

"He's gonna be so mad," Jubilee said at almost a whisper.

"Yes, likely he will want someone to yell at," Noh said, still watching Scott though with a small smirk. "When he returns."

"If you can talk him into it, you mean," Jubilee said with a frown.

"I'm sure he doesn't need to be talked into yelling at me," Scott joked, trying to get a smile.

"You know what I meant," Jubilee said, red-cheeked and narrowed eyes.

"Kurt's keeping an eye on the news. As soon as we get a clear idea of how fast the politicians will start backing off when they see what JJ's got ... you know he'll bring them back," Scott promised her.

"And likely he won't ask their opinion on whether they want to leave wherever they'd hidden themselves," Noh said mildly.

"But that doesn't mean they'll  _stay_ ," Jubes pointed out.

"Jubilee, I doubt they will leave when you are hugging them until next Christmas," Noh told her.

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious, moon boy," she said with a little frown.

"Just give Kurt some credit," Scott said. "He'll get them back for good — you know he'll move heaven and earth to do it."

* * *

Kurt had waited until JJ's reports hit the circuits and the politicians were backtracking; the cries for Logan and K's heads turned to cries for Weapon X's heads... Basically, he waited until it would be clear to his friends that they were no longer being hunted. But it had taken some supreme patience, and he didn't wait  _too_ long, either — more ready to have his best friend back — before he teleported into the living room of K's cottage.

But he frowned hard when he saw that they were packed and ready to go. K — now blonde — was feeding Elin, and Logan was packing up the last of what they'd need.

He cleared his throat and tried to ignore the way his tail was twitching. "Oh good; you're packed to go home," he said in a tone that brokered no argument.

But both of them gave him a completely dry and unamused look. Logan shook his head and K went back to Elin, simply to let Logan talk to him. "We're leavin,' you got that much right."

"You're no longer being hunted; there's no one calling for your heads that anyone will take seriously. You can come home. We'll celebrate Elin's birthday, and you can see how much Krissy has grown," Kurt said in a rush.

"All the more reason not to go there," Logan said. "They'll hit back. Hard. And when it's over, then it's just a matter of everyone giving us that look." He gestured to Kurt's body language and expression and frowned a bit. "There is a reason I never told anyone."

"I know, and I understand. Better than I ever did before," Kurt told him. "But Logan ... they're going to hit us hard anyway. You should be there to help us fight them. And you should be there for everything else. Do you want J. Jonah Jameson to have the last word on how your friends remember you?"

"Probably will anyhow. Not a damn one of you know when to quit."

"That's why you love us," Kurt said with a nod. He let out a breath and rested a hand on Logan's shoulder. "There will be consequences to today. I know that. But they aren't consequences that should keep you from your family and your friends. You're not going to bring any more danger than usual down on us — and the rest we can figure out ourselves." Kurt gave him a pleading look. "You've been out of our lives for so long. Please don't make it permanent. It will break their hearts."

Logan stared at him for a good, long time. "I don't like pity."

"None of us do. But it's part of what we deal with — do you think Kate was happy when she had her shoulder patched up and everyone could see?"

"This is a little bigger than a patch job around the house. And you made it public."

"I know, and I'm sorry — but that was where the fight was." Kurt looked at him wide-eyed before, when he saw that Logan still didn't look like he was listening, he shifted into anger. "And honestly, Logan, I don't give a damn about your hurt feelings and pride. I just want you back."

Logan shook his head at that but didn't respond except to ask, "Who was involved?"

"The Hawkeyes started it," he admitted. "Well, really Kate did — she got fed up with JJ and decided to put her private detective business back into play." He smiled a bit proudly at that. "And Wade invited himself as soon as he knew what she was up to."

"You let him in on this?" Logan asked with a frown.

"He threw himself into it," Kurt told him. "I've never seen him that… quiet. Focused. Most of what we had before the video aired ... what we were able to use to stop the bill… we owe it to him."

"Why would he want to help?" K asked from the kitchen.

"They're the ones responsible for his insanity," Kurt said simply. "You two are not the only ones who were part of their plans."

"I know," she said, nodding. "I just don't get why he'd … whatever."

"I think he would be the best one to tell you that," Kurt admitted before he paused and seemed to think over his words. "He was the one to get Essex's files."

"Wait, what?" Logan said, looking a bit more taken back. "What … how the hell deep did you go?"

"As deeply as we could," Kurt admitted. "Anything we could use against them. Though at the time, none of them knew it was Essex they were raiding until he proposed his trade for the information."

"What kind of trade?" K asked, looking very concerned.

Kurt's expression turned to one of pure disdain. "He seems to be… looking for a way around my father's spell. Any powers he acquired from stolen samples, he's quickly losing, so ... he needs willingly given ones."

"Sooo…. If I stab him in the face?" K asked, one eyebrow arched high.

"Then I'm not sure if he'll heal from it. Wade didn't tell me if it worked or not, and he likely doesn't know. But I'd suggest doing it anyway," Kurt said with a small smirk. "I'll help."

"You're not stabbing Sinister in the face," Logan said with an irritated tone. "We're not chasing after him. If he shows up on his own …" He let out a little breath. "We should hand it to Scott."

Kurt smiled at that and nodded. "He was on the team as well — you should know he was  _furious_ when he saw… well, everything."

"Perfect," he muttered under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Not at  _you_ ,  _mein Freund_ ," Kurt said, shaking his head. "At  _them_. You should have seen the building he leveled." But when neither of them looked like they believed him, Kurt let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright... don't go anywhere. If you want the full story, I don't know all of it. Give me just a moment." With that, he disappeared with a  _bamf_ , only to reappear moments later with Kate in tow. She was holding a giggling Krissy and flat out grinned when she saw Logan and K.

"Why are you  _blonde_?" she asked — immediately fixing her gaze on K in obvious shock

"Why do you care?" K shot back, with a frown.

"Because how the heck is Krissy supposed to recognize you if you change too much, you idiot?" she asked, all but skipping over.

K gave her a look that clearly said 'that's the point'.

"And you!" Kate turned to face Logan and level a finger at him. "What's with the beard and ponytail? You guys're gonna have to do something about this, because you  _can't_ look like this when Chance and Charlie say hi. It will confuse the heck out of them."

" _You_  recognized me," Logan defended.

"I've seen you and your Canadian beard mutation," she shot back, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, but he made it all … proper," K said. "I know you haven't seen that."

"This is true, but I'm also a Hawkeye and I know how to spot people even when they're hiding behind Canadian beard hair," Kate insisted before she set Krissy down gently and wrapped K up in a hug.

"Hey, stranger," K said, squeezing the purple-clad Hawk in return.

Kate grinned at that before she bounded over to give Logan the same treatment. "No escape for the hug magnet," she teased.

"You'd never find me if I didn't want you to," he warned.

"Well then, it's a good thing you want me to. Clearly. Since I'm standing here," she countered before she kissed his cheek and made a face. "K, how do you stand that? It's weird."

"It's soft," K replied as she let Elin out of her chair.

"Yeah, but speaking as someone who regularly makes out with a fuzzy Elf, the beard-skin sensation is… no," Kate insisted.

"I'm … not going to traumatize you and answer that further," K teased.

Kate grinned as she spun in place to drape her arm around Logan's shoulders before she spotted little Elin and beamed even wider on seeing her walking around. "She's so  _big_!" she said, then paused. "I mean ... bigger."

"Yet somehow, not," K said with a frown as she seemed to notice the size disparity in the two baby girls in the cottage. "You've been outstripped,  _flicka_."

Kurt had to smile at that when he saw Krissy determinedly crawling her way over to where Elin was — even on all fours it was obvious that she was bigger than Elin. The little elfling wasn't making fast progress on her own, though, so Elin got there first, and Krissy sat back down and wrapped her tail around Elin's middle with a contented grin.

Elin scooted closer and pulled her into a little hug. "Sweet baby."

Krissy giggled and snuggled her friend, patting her cheek with one hand as she curled her tail tighter in the snuggle.

"Well, at least she recognizes  _someone_ ," Kate teased. "Even if Elin's bigger and  _talking_  oh my  _gosh_." She crouched down beside the two little girls and settled in to watch the adorable snuggles happening, clearly with an expression that said she could hardly handle the cuteness.

"Don't think playing dirty is going to help your cause, demon," K said as she leveled a finger at Kurt.

Kurt shrugged openly. "You seemed concerned about going back. I thought you should ease into it," he said.

"Right. I'm sure that's what it is," K said as she walked over toward Kate to sit on the floor with the little ones.

Kurt grinned as he watched the girls together and leaned over to Logan with a gleam in his eyes. "Those two are going to be inseparable," he said. "It's only right; every generation needs a Wagner and a Howlett."

"You're shameless," Logan said dryly, arms still crossed over his chest.

"I  _am_ half-demon," Kurt defended.

"Yeah, yeah, you can't go leanin' on that excuse all the time," he replied.

"Why not?" Kurt asked, grinning wider now. "It's a very good excuse."

"Because you haven't done anything yet that would be considered anything but goodie two shoes. One way or another."

"You left me alone with our fearless leader for too long then," he teased.

"Wasn't my doin'."

"Then don't extend it," Kurt replied with a smirk. "I clearly need my Wolverine to keep up my troublemaking streak."

"You're gonna eat those words, Elf."

"Gladly," he replied without hesitation. He paused and looked Logan over for a moment before he grinned again. "Would you like to say hello to Natasha and Clint? She's still not quite where she needs to be for you to win our bet, I think. Perhaps you can nudge her," he teased.

"That would be cheating," he replied. "She was the one who broke the code for you, isn't she?"

"I didn't have time to break it myself," he defended. "I was busy rescuing my princess."

"Mmmhmm," Logan said with a little smirk before he called over to K. "You were right; he cheated."

"We should ditch them right now and make him find us," K replied.

Kurt looked offended for only a moment before an impish grin spread over his face and he said, never breaking eye contact with Logan, "Well, I  _am_ half-demon."

With that, seemingly to prove his point, he teleported himself and Logan to the bunker — and not a moment later, the girls appeared in a poof of smoke as well.


	12. Chance and Elin: Reunited

K swore in three different languages as Kurt teleported her to the bunker, and she reached out for something to lean on. "Warn me next time!"

The other four people in the bunker — the rest of their little team — all turned on hearing their arrival, and there was no mistaking the huge grin that Natasha wasn't even trying to hide as she rushed over to Logan and pulled him into an honest-to-God bear hug.

"You didn't miss me, did you?" Logan said low as he returned the hug.

"Shut up," she muttered, hugging him harder as Clint chuckled at that and ran over to give K a hug before Wade could get there.

"What's the big deal making the news without me?" he teased her.

"Not my idea, torture hubby," she told him. "How's our sparkly child?"

"Been wrapped up with his sparkly little one," Clint replied with a grin. "Trying to teach him that hitting is a no-no when you can  _break people_  at his age."

"Vicious lies," she countered before she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Scott had hung back a bit for Clint and Natasha to run in, but while Kate and Wade were now occupied with both of the little girls as Wade oohed and ahhed over Elin, he slid over to pull K into a quick hug. "It's good to have you back."

"You're still too pushy," K told him, pulling him tighter. "Now hug me right, or I'll stab you entirely out of spite."

He actually laughed at that before he picked her up off the ground and spun her in a hug. "You're right; sorry about that."

"You look like you need a little break, oh, hero mine," she told him as she took him by the hand and pulled him toward the girls. " _Flicka_ ," she called out, and Elin squirmed away from Kate to make her way over to her mother. "She likes tickles," K told Scott.

Scott broke into a wide smile at that as he looked over the little girl and crouched down. "Remember me?" he asked.

Elin giggled a little and booped him on the nose. "Slim."

Scott shook his head and then looked over his shoulder at Logan — though it was impossible to hide the fact that he was still grinning before he turned back to the little girl. "Close enough," he decided before he picked her up and started to tickle her.

When she'd had enough, she grabbed him by the cheeks and gave him a very quick and gentle kiss, then snuggled into his shoulder. Scott visibly melted right back, settling in with her with his back against the couch, content to stay there for as long as she wanted him to, though they both looked tired — and she yawned and rested her hand on his mouth as she settled in.

It wasn't long at all before she was asleep — and Scott looked like he wasn't far behind. After all, it had been go-go-go to get the last members of their team back. And now? Now he was relaxing for the first time in a long time, and his body craved sleep.

"I guess we're stuck here for a little bit," Logan said when he saw the sleeping baby passed out on Scott's chest.

"We'll get back to the house later," Kurt said. "Jubilee is waiting to likely read me the riot act for taking so long to bring you back."

While Logan was shaking his head at Kurt's not-so-subtle methods of keeping them around, Clint had snagged Natasha back from Logan for just a moment. He looped an arm around her and tipped his head K's way. "I think she's trying to steal my look, Nat. Should I be flattered — or worried she's becoming a groupie?"

K looked his way with one raised eyebrow. "No, I was tired of everyone taking me so seriously, so I figured this was the quickest way to avoid that. Emulate the bimbo look."

"She called me a bimbo, Nat," Clint complained loudly.

Natasha rolled her eyes at his antics and then smiled K's way. "It's a good look. You two are nearly unrecognizable."

"That was the idea," she said with a nod.

"How long have you been blonde?" she asked with a business-like interest. "Did you use any other colors?"

"I had to play with it, but only maybe … four or five days."

Natasha did the math in her head and lined it up with the news broadcasts before she turned and smacked Logan in the arm — and then followed it up with an actual punch.

"Yeah, I get that feeling too sometimes," K said in a bored tone as she went to stand near Clint and watch the show.

" _Ty menya otkazat'sya?_ " Natasha all but screeched at him.

" _Nyet,"_ Logan replied seriously. "Never. Just planned on hiding a while longer. You haven't needed me around for years."

"You were at my wedding, you idiot!" She smacked him again. " _Konechno, ty mne nuzhen!_ "

"I'm here now, aren't I? Get it off your chest."

She leveled her finger at him and narrowed her eyes. "And you'd better  _stay_ here. I am  _not_ running your class for eternity. I have other plans with my life."

"Just thought you needed to spend some time around kids," Logan teased. "Clint doesn't count."

She gave him a dry look and gestured toward where Krissy was still playing with Wade. "I've been cooped up with two others besides Clint."

"Wade pays his own bills and can make a plan," Logan said. "He doesn't count either."

"I also see plenty of Gerry. He turned three recently, you know," she said. "You should bring him a present."

"I heard," he said with a nod. "And I'll arrange for something." He smirked wider at her. "Anything else you wanna get off your chest, Mom?"

She shot him the dryest look yet and then shook her head before she fell into another, softer hug and seemed content to just stay there.

"She's broken," K said to Clint.

"She'll recover," Clint said with an easy shrug. He grinned a bit wider and tipped his head to where Scott had fallen asleep with Elin on his chest. "That one, on the other hand…"

"What's he been up to?" K asked. "Not more of the Weapon X crap, I hope."

"Right on the money," he told her frankly. "Just showed up and basically took over the operation one day."

"Of course he did," she said. "He's bossy."

"Yeah, well, he's the one with the kid who wouldn't shut up about missing Elin? So he sorta… needed this." Clint rubbed the back of his neck. "Badly."

"Well, as long as there aren't any saved videos on anyone's phone, we're kosher."

"Just the one of Elin saying hi to Chance," Clint said with an easy grin. "Which Chance plays. All. The. Time. It's sticky sweet, and that's saying something, considering I've been stuck with Kate and Kurt for the past few months."

"You should have seen the total destruction when she was trying out her German on Kurt."

Clint grinned outright. "That's just  _mean_."

"She's learning Russian too."

"Nat will melt. I'll have to get it on video," he said.

"She won't say it for anyone until it's perfect, though," K warned.

"Which will only make Nat melt more," Clint assured her. He broke into a troublemaking grin and leaned forward a bit. "I like the way you think, though. This is going to… we gotta think long-term destruction now." He gestured at Scott.

"Careful," she warned. "As soon as she has a little better control, sign is next."

He grinned. "Great. We'll be able to plot our troublemaking schemes without anyone knowing," he replied, his head still tipped at Scott. "Just think. Just  _think_ of the look on his face if Chance's crush doesn't  _stop_."

"Yeah … if that happens, Scott won't be alone," she said, tipping her head toward where Logan and Natasha had gone to sit down and chat quietly — though she could already hear Natasha pushing him to shave that damn beard off.

"Gerry will help," Clint promised. "Kid's been, like, basically trying to become Cupid instead of Hawkeye."

"That'll be a good look," K said with her eyebrows raised high. "We can get him wings."

"First Hawk to actually have wings," he chuckled.

"But not the first to wear a diaper in public."

"To be fair, I'm a carnie," he said with a shameless grin.

"I know, it's part of your charm. You got that whole tilt a whirl, corn pone thing going on."

He grinned widely and leaned in. "Think that's how I snagged Nat? Cuz I'm still trying to figure out how she decided I was worth the trouble."

As the two of them were joking around, Wade came over and got in the middle of them, throwing an arm over each of their shoulders. "You two look lonely."

"I was just telling her I'm married to Nat. Did I tell you that recently?" Clint teased, knowing Wade would rise to the bait.

"Nooooo," Wade said shaking his head. "Never." He turned toward K. "That … is a beautiful little girl you have over there, but there is a problem."

"There is no problem with my daughter," K said, half turned his way.

"But ... you said there would be  _twins._  That was the deal for lying to me before." Wade was grinning as he bumped her hip with his. "Twinsies."

K looked from Wade to Clint. "Do you believe this?"

"C'mon, Wade — don't you know about the birds and bees? She can't  _pick_  what she has," Clint said, shaking his head.

"I do, I do know about the birds and the bees," Wade said, still sounding perfectly serious. "But … come on. I've been patient. I want to see wee tiny Wolvies."

"Well, ya got one," Clint gestured to where Scott and Elin were still knocked out asleep together. "And she's adorable."

"What's your vested interest in this anyhow?" K asked. "You're not actually related. Regardless of what you like to say. And … patriotism only goes so far."

"Those are my bad guys too," Wade said. "And I want my little nieces and nephews safe. So … get with the more nieces and nephews."

She leaned forward to look at Clint more clearly. "How much work did he do?"

"He's been working since the start. Pretty much lived in a mountain of files when he wasn't out in the field with us," he told her honestly. "Not to mention the whole thing with Sinister ... which. Okay. No one told me about that guy? And  _that_ is something I can't un-experience."

K nodded and took in a deep breath before she looked across the room at where Logan and Natasha were still talking. "Okay, we need to talk," K said. "Boundaries. You need to respect them." She looked up at him and waited for confirmation. "Keep in mind, I know how to kill you."

Wade nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I got the message last time. That won't happen again."

"I ... " She looked toward Clint. "How stupid would I be to give him another chance?"

"He's really not that bad," Clint told her, then paused. "And I can't believe I just told you that. But…. He's really alright. Just nuts."

K turned to face Wade and held her arms up. "One hug. As a means of saying thank you for what you've done."

He beamed and rushed over, though he paused about an inch away. "Don't stab me," he said before he wrapped her in a hug.

She let him get it mostly out of his system, even returning the hug before she gently leaned up to his ear and whispered out a little something that made him freeze entirely.

"Behave now," she reminded him as he started to nearly dance in place, both hands clapped over his mouth as he was clearly doing all he could to keep her confidence in telling him the secret.

"Oh look. You two broke another one," Clint said dryly.

"He's fine," K said. "He's just trying to keep his head from exploding."

"Clearly," Clint chuckled, then startled a bit and looked down to see that Krissy had crawled over to tug on his pant leg to get his attention for him to pick her up.

Kate followed the purple elfling over with a little grin. "What's his problem?" she asked, watching Wade's continued silent implosion as he laid down on the floor and looked very much like Noh when he was drunk and thinking he would go flying off the world.

"I blew his mind," K said, arms crossed as she leaned on Clint. "I'm taking you in trade for now."

"You'll have to ask Nat," Clint said with a smirk.

"She's got mine; I'm holding hers ransom."

Kate grinned and ruffled Krissy's hair in Clint's arms as she looked over to where Logan and Nat were still chatting quietly in Russian. "Good point; I should go get mine," she teased, slipping over to where Kurt was beaming as he watched how very well this was going reintroducing the two ferals.

Natasha had been catching Logan up on much of what had happened for them to get the information they needed, though she did have to smirk as she added, "And of course, I told the boys I could handle what they couldn't once we had everything. Such fragile things."

"They are at that," Logan agreed before he dropped his gaze to the floor. "You shouldn't have seen it either, though."

She rolled her eyes and reached over to pinch his arm. "You know what my job is — whatever the fragile ones can't handle."

"You gonna tell me it didn't get to you?" he asked, looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course it did," she said, waving a hand. "I just don't let it  _stay_ with me." She smiled at him softly. "You taught me that."

"It'll stick with 'em for a long time. Likely won't be able to look at either of us the same again."

Natasha gestured to where Scott was with Elin, then to Clint teasing K and to Kurt and Kate grinning — even to Wade. "Oh yes. They have really changed the way they treat you," she said wryly.

"There's more to it than that," he admitted.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you worried about the others?" she asked, watching him carefully. "Or is it something else?"

He looked over to where the rest of them were before he leaned in a little closer to whisper in her ear. "It's not just the three of us."

Her mouth parted and her eyes widened as the understanding hit. "How long have you known?" she asked as the smile started to spread.

"Long enough," he said.

"Congratulations," she said warmly, squeezing his arm. "That will be one lucky little girl or boy."

"Yeah, well ... that's part of why we're thinkin' it might be good to stay gone."

She pursed her lips as she thought it over. "Because she was miserable last time?"

"Partly that — but more to keep 'em outta everyone's radar."

She tipped her head and nodded thoughtfully. "I can understand that," she said. "But I think you're forgetting one thing." She leaned over and whispered the next part. "That little one is going to need me around,  _dyaden'ka_."

"Yeah?"

"The little one will be family," she said. "I'm sorry, but like Clint would say, I don't make the rules." With that, she broke into a little troublemaking smirk and raised her voice a bit. "Isn't that right, Clint? I should be godmother to the new little one, don't you think?"

"That was dirty," Logan said low.

"You taught me well," she said without hesitation.

Kurt teleported right beside Logan at that, openly gaping. "Why didn't you  _tell_ me?"

"Figured you'd be too emotional over it," Logan replied coolly.

Kurt shook his head at him before he pulled Logan up into a warm hug. "Why would I be emotional?" he teased. "It's only  _excellent_ news!  _Herzliche Gl_ _ü_ _ckw_ _ü_ _nsche!"_

"And a happy new year," Clint drawled out, though he was grinning at K now.

"What?" she said, looking him up and down.

"Nothing," he said before he wrapped her in a hug. "Congrats."

"Thanks," she replied, returning the hug. "Think you can handle letting another one bowl you over with a feather?"

Clint chuckled and gestured to Krissy, who was contentedly wrapping her tail around his arm. "Think I've got plenty of practice," he pointed out.

Kate had zipped over to get between them for a hug as well. "You're going to destroy these boys if it's another little girl," she teased. "They can't even handle the first one."

"I have no control over that — whatever it is, blame him," she said, tipping her head to Logan.

"Yes, I know how this works," she said with a giggle.

Kurt grinned as he looked at both of them. "This is what happens when you spend a week in a tropical location barely clothed," he teased.

"It wasn't in the tropics," K replied. "But I could so totally pin that on you, seeing as you were clearly trying for that."

"I'll take full credit for any happiness I bring to your lives," he said with a grin.

"You can't," Logan said. "Not on this one."

"Oh, I know — you two did the hard work," he said with a significant grin.

"And … we planned it," K said his way. "Try not to get emotional now."

He broke into a huge grin and once more teleported over to wrap her in a hug. "Too late," he said as he pulled her tighter. "This is  _wunderbar_!"

"We'll just have to wait and see how good my math is," K told him as she gave him a squeeze back. "Pretty sure I know what's up, but … "

"But…?" he prompted, still grinning.

"Baby math is not my strongest point," she replied. "They measure stupid."

"That's what Annie said," Scott said, and Kate grinned his way and had to laugh.

"How long you been awake, boss man?"

"Long enough," Scott replied, grinning wide, though he was still blinking sleep from his eyes. "Congratulations, both of you." Elin was yawning still but had moved on to pinching him — which might have been what had woken him, really.

"Thanks. Bad news though, if we come back ... you're still out a riding teacher for a while," K said with a shrug.

"Well, we're getting close to the end of the semester anyway," he said philosophically. "And then it's summer."

"And I'm not going to be very good for riding classes this fall," she said.

"Leslie Ann will be disappointed. She wanted to learn," Scott told her.

"Well, I guess I'm just disappointing," K replied.

"No, I wouldn't say that," he said, shaking his head. "She can take the class in the spring, if you're feeling up to it by then."

"You know me," she said. "I  _should_ be good to go within a few hours of getting the whole fiasco over with."

"Then you'd better prepare for a little flower child insisting on riding lessons as soon as you're up and about," Kate teased.

"If you can get them singing, we can take them caroling on the horses," K suggested.

Kurt broke into a grin. "That sounds excellent," he said.

Scott stood up carefully, wincing a bit at having fallen asleep at a strange angle as he straightened up and Elin giggled at the face he made.

"Gettin' old, boss man," Kate teased him.

"Just lack of any real sleep. Still a lot of sifting to do," Scott replied as he adjusted the way Elin was sitting in his arms.

"Oh no." Kate shook her finger at him. "No, you are getting sleep and food and … whatever else Mrs. Boss tells you. No sifting for you, mister." She glanced at the nearest bamf, who was pretending to check to see if Wade had died, since Wade was still being dramatic — but the little guy met her gaze and chattered his quick agreement to watch out for Scott and take him back home for Annie.

"You had to tell him first, huh?" Logan said as he watched Wade finally get onto his feet — only to flat out tackle Logan with a hug.

"Worth it," K said as the two men hit the floor and Wade went into all the plans he had for the little one — including a teeny tiny Wolverine costume. K watched with a little smirk as the madness unfolded, seemingly content to see someone else catch the brunt of Wade's brand of crazy.

"Ooh, you guys should tell Jubes next, or you'll get in trouble," Kate pointed out.

"Good point," K said before she called for Wade to stop. "We gotta go tell the big girls now."

"And our sparkly son," Clint added, grinning at K.

"Yes, naturally. He'll want to know immediately," K agreed. "We did so well with him."

"They grow up so fast," Clint said in a faraway voice.

"Next thing you know, he'll be knocking off intergalactic gas stations for CDs and pocket change."

"Those are  _your_ genes," Clint said in his best scandalized voice.

"Well, the corn dogs and elephant ears that he can't get enough of are all your fault."

"This is true," Clint agreed, chuckling.

"Let's get to Westchester before these two start fighting over visitation rights," Logan muttered as he pushed Wade back finally.

"There's no fight. I have full custody," K said.

"It's true. I can stop by and say hi on weekends and holidays," Clint agreed.

Kurt rolled his eyes at both of them before he pulled Kate close, and the bamfs grabbed hold of Logan and K and Scott and Elin. Clint grinned and tipped Krissy into Kate's arms before he waved his fingers goodbye, and with that, the group of X-Men teleported back to Westchester, right into the living room, where Jubilee and Noh were playing with Sying, while Annie was watching the twins play with Erik again.

When they heard the bamf, everyone in the room was clearly excited, but Jubilee was fastest. She rushed for Logan and threw her arms around his neck just after he'd gotten K into a chair — obviously dizzy from the teleporting. "You're back!" she declared happily.

"And looking far less like themselves than they did before," Noh said with a little laugh from where Sying was trying to pin him to the ground — though the little boy had paused in the roughhousing to stare up at the reunion that was going on.

"Well, we were on the run," Logan said as he hugged Jubilee back. "Though I'm told I've been overruled on any more time out."

"Uh, yeah," she said, as if it should have been obvious to him. "Duh."

The twins had been a bit confused on seeing Logan and K, since they looked so different, but then Chance saw Elin in Scott's arms and broke into a delighted squeal. "EWIN!" he shouted as he scrambled over to say hi and Charlie followed behind looking very entertained.

Elin giggled as Scott set her down and then giggled even harder when Chance gave her a huge hug. The little ones seemed to take turns hugging back and forth until Elin grabbed Chance by either side of his face and very carefully gave him a quick kiss and said 'Hi.'

He beamed at her. "Hi, Ewin. I miss you!" he told her, then hugged her again.

"It okay," she said quietly before she hugged him back and Charlie dove into the hugs with them.

"That's the most adorable thing I've ever seen," Kate said in a voice that clearly said she was dying.

"Well, he missed his Valentine," Kurt said with a quiet smile, though he had a gleam of laughter in his eyes.

"Elf, shhhhhush," Elin said in an almost stern tone.

Kurt laughed and looked over at Logan accusingly. "You've been teaching her that," he accused his friend.

"I have," he admitted. "She's got the best chance of getting you to shhhush."

"She is the cutest out of all three of you," Kate teased. "I mean. All four of you."

"Four of you?" Jubilee looked Logan over with one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," Logan said with a nod as he glanced to K with a little smirk on his face.

Jubilee let out a little giggle and then a squeal before she wrapped her arms around him again and Noh zipped over to give K a kiss on the cheek.

"That's lovely news," Noh said. "I'm excited to have another little brother or sister," he added, the grin widening as he wrapped her in a hug.

"We weren't sure how everyone was going to take it," K said as she hugged him back.

"How were you expecting us to take it except to be excited?" Annie asked, still crouched beside the little hug fest that was the kids — now with Sying trying to direct Krissy toward the group despite the fact that she seemed content not to join that nonsense and instead try to crawl over to be spoiled by Erik while everyone was distracted.

K just kind of shrugged. "Never know."

"Well now you know," Annie said, shaking her head before she got up to get her hug in as well. "Welcome home, by the way. We've all missed you something awful."

"Couldn't have been that bad," K replied.

But Charlie had disentangled herself from Chance and Elin to toddle over to where Logan was. "Wogan pway?" she asked. "Wogan stay and pway?"

"What do you want to play, little darlin'?" Logan asked as he crouched down next to her.

But as soon as he was at her level, she ran over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I don know. Just pway with Wogan."

"You need a bear hug?" he asked.

She giggled. "With gwowling!"

He smirked her way, then narrowed his eyes a bit before he let out a very quiet, low growl. In response, Elin, across the room, let out a little growl of her own.

Chance looked surprised and then giggled delightedly. "Inna gwowl," he announced, trying to copy Elin, though he was clearly unable to do it and instead ended up looking slightly disappointed as he screwed up his face in concentration trying to get it right.

Elin, however, fell apart into big belly laughs at his attempts and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "Silly."

"I twy," he told her sincerely.

Kate giggled and tapped Kurt on the shoulder. "So you're marrying those two when they're old enough, right?" she teased.

"If they're still giggling and kissing and cuddling every three seconds, I think I'll have to," Kurt said, shaking his head and unable to stop the grin. After all, this reunion was going incredibly well — and had certainly showed the two Howletts how valued they were.

Noh laughed at that. "I think you're intending to marry off every single one of those under this roof," he teased.

"I like to see people happy," Kurt countered. "And there simply isn't more joyful an occasion than a marriage or a child."

Noh chuckled as he pulled Sying away from Krissy, who was now doing her best squeaky growl at him to get him to stop bothering her. "I have to agree with you there."

"So!" Jubilee bounced on her toes the slightest bit as she grinned at the two of them. "You both need haircuts. And then we so need to celebrate."

"Not cuttin' my hair," Logan said.

She made a face at him before she shook her head and stuck her finger in his chest. "Oh, Wolvie. It's cute that you think you have a say in this. Don't make me get my scissors."

"I like it," K defended.

"Well, if the lady likes it," Noh said with a smirk, but Jubilee rolled her eyes at him.

"Nu-uh." She poked Logan once more. "At least  _shave_."

"No," he argued. "She likes that too." K gave him a wink and laughed a bit to herself. "I'll cut it when she's tired of it."

Jubilee stuck her tongue out at him. "Well,  _I_ don't like it."

"Good thing you don't gotta look at it," Logan replied.

"Only every day," she countered with her hands on her hips.

"That can be remedied," he shot right back.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Nope. No it can't. Because Kurt has been getting all the love from  _my_ goddaughter. And that is just unfair. So you can't go anywhere, sorry."

"Then snuggle the kid and get off my back about the beard," Logan told her.

She raised one eyebrow at him, popped a large bubble, and then rolled her eyes once more before she zipped over to join the cuddle pile of kids.

….

Translations from Russian:

 _Ty menya otkazat'sya? -_ You were leaving me?

 _Konechno, ty mne nuzhen_ \- Of course I need you!

From German:

 _Herzliche Gl_ _ü_ _ckw_ _ü_ _nsche! -_  Congratulations!


	13. Teeny Tiny Fam'wy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Elin's first birthday and the ferals get to see how missed they were by alllllllll the heroes.

If there had ever been any doubt about how badly Logan, K, and Elin had been missed, that was laid to rest when Elin's birthday came around.

Just about every hero they knew sent in a present if they couldn't be there themselves, but as many as weren't actively busy in the superhero business dropped by personally to ooh and ahh over how big she was. Which, of course, meant that Elin was simply inundated with all sorts of colorful wrapping paper that she could play with to her heart's content and tear apart.

And while all the adults were more than content to wrap up Elin's parents, all of the kids were in one massive group playing with each other, with little Dani practically directing them, since she was the oldest and had also inherited her parents' super strength, so she could deal with Sying when he bothered Krissy too much — which was often.

Luke was chuckling as he watched his little girl pull Sying aside and shake her head at him after the little boy had been trying to pull Krissy to her feet to get her to walk with him. "She doesn't  _want_ your help," Dani explained to the little guy, who just frowned and didn't seem to understand why Krissy didn't want to walk when he'd been doing it for weeks now because of his enhanced strength. Krissy nodded behind Dani fervently and sat her little self down behind the older girl with her arms crossed and a nice little glare on her face.

Sying clearly didn't know what to do with the team up against him, but he wanted to still play with the girls, so he nodded quickly, playing nice so that he wouldn't get chewed out.

On the other side of the coin, though, both Charlie and Gerry were enthusiastically encouraging the continuing hug fest that was Chance and Elin. The two of them had hardly detached from each other since their adorable reunion, and the other kids were all but pushing their friends into more hugs.

"Give Ewin card," Charlie had instructed Chance almost as soon as the party got started, and the little boy had very shyly produced the birthday card he made and signed with his handprint, as usual.

"Happy birth-day," he told her before he looked over his shoulder at his sister, who was making 'go on' motions at him, and very shyly gave her a little kiss. And Charlie gave the two of them a little nod as Gerry giggled delightedly and flashed her a double thumbs up.

Of course, no first birthday celebration would be complete without a cake for Elin to smash to pieces, and all the kids oohed and ahhed over the blue and yellow icing flowers that Annie had made as she set the cake down in front of Elin.

The dark-haired little girl watched the large group around her with wide eyes. K encouraged her to taste her cake with a little smirk as Remy and Bobby closed out the teasing bet on what the kid would do when faced with all that sugar.

But both of them were disappointed when Elin simply frowned at it, then very delicately put one finger into the middle of a yellow flower. She stared at the frosting on her finger until Jubilee helped to get her to taste it, but even then, all she would do was swipe up a bit on one finger — one little taste at a time.

Peter with his camera was nearly begging her to get a little more into it, but the little feral just raised one eyebrow at him and simply continued on her way … still one taste at a time. She seemed more content to finger paint with the frosting than anything else, which resulted in a little picking toward Logan and K for their little girl that seemed to share their aversion to sweets.

"She likes them," K defended as Jubilee gave her a look that bordered on betrayal. "She just … doesn't  _love_  sweets. It's her call."

"Blasphemy," Jubilee argued, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest as Chance and Charlie made their way a bit closer.

"Moosh it," Charlie said with a smile and a little laugh, clearly moving on to coaching the younger girl.

There was no mistaking the look that Elin gave her, though, as she seemed to simply  _stare wide-eyed_ right at Charlie and even more delicately make little swirls in the frosting with one finger, as if challenging her to try and make her smash it. And most of the adults were dying trying to hold in their laughter.

"I help?" Chance offered.

Elin gave him a crooked smile and reached up with a frosting-covered hand to smear it on his nose as she tried to boop him.

That seemed to decide it for the little boy, who stuck three fingers in the icing before anyone could stop him and smeared them on her cheek. "Silly," he told her. "It go in your mouth!"

Kate was beaming at Jubilee and mouthing 'Behold the future' over and over again at the display. But Logan and Scott were both half glaring at her for that one, which only made it that much funnier.

"You're getting a little ahead of yourself," K said with a laugh. "They need to be able to at least drive. Though if you count spaceships …"

"Yes. Like I said — the future," Kate agreed with a solemn nod before she grinned at Noh. "Didn't you promise spaceship lessons before she could walk?"

"She started to walk without me around," Noh defended. "I'll have to settle for spaceship lessons now."

"There will be no spaceship lessons," Scott said in a flat tone, shaking his head at the group of them. "You're all ridiculous."

K leaned closer to Noh and Jubilee, her arms crossed over her chest. "You gonna let him tell you what to do that easy?" she said just low enough for Noh, Jubilee, and Logan to hear, and though Jubilee busted up laughing, Logan pulled her away telling her to quit stirring up trouble.

"Well, my ship  _does_ love children. And I can set her to ignore their commands while the little ones are still learning. They can't possibly hurt her — in fact, she flies better with them around," Noh reasoned.

"And she is learning sooooo fast," Jubilee agreed. "Our tiny multilingual wonder."

"I must get started teaching her  _my_ native tongue," Noh said. "She is my little sister, after all."

"Oh, definitely," Jubilee laughed, though that only had Noh grinning wider as he swept her up into a kiss.

Meanwhile, Kamala had swooped in to rescue Krissy from Sying and to give Dani a bit of a break, and the little purple elfling snuggled right into her favorite babysitter as the grinning Miss Marvel carried her off, tickling her and playing with her the whole way over to where Miles was trying to avoid the looks Clint was giving him.

"Seriously, Miles. Just look at how cute she is," Clint was teasing him.

Miles pulled a face and pushed the older Avenger back with both hands. "Dude, it took me months just to ask her on a date. We have been a thing for  _maybe_ three months? Don't. Scare her."

"She's not scared," Clint teased mercilessly, but he stopped when Kamala had reached them, because he wasn't heartless, after all — he just really loved to mess with easy-target Miles Morales.

Kamala sat down between her fellow Avengers with a wide grin on her face and Clint almost immediately started making faces at Krissy, to the little one's delight, though it was clear from the way she had her tail wrapped around Kamala's arm that she was completely content to stay with her favorite babysitter and play with Clint from afar.

"She keeps trying to growl at Sying," Kamala giggled. "And it comes out all squeaky, and he doesn't understand what she's trying to do."

"Well, you've heard what Logan's calling her, haven't you?" Clint chuckled.

"It's fitting," Miles agreed as he joined Clint in making faces at the little one. Both Kamala and Krissy fell into fits of giggles — only fueling each other, since the harder one of them would laugh, the more the other would laugh at them. And that, in turn, was fueling the boys, who seemed to be getting progressively more ridiculous the harder the girls laughed.

This continued until Gerry came running over with a huge smile on his face. "Tance loves Elin," he reported to his dad, pointing over at where the two little ones were giggling at each other. Clint followed his little boy's pointing finger just in time to see Chance try to growl back at Elin again, as the little girl fell apart in belly laughs at his attempts, which only had Chance giggling and even less able to attempt a growl

Clint chuckled and nodded. "You're right, bud."

Gerry grinned and started to giggle. "I was right!" he declared happily to Miles, who started laughing.

"Why do you sound surprised? Of course you were right!" Miles told him, which got the little guy grinning even wider.

"That's what Mommy says," Gerry agreed, only fueling more laughter at that.

"And your mom's always right," Clint told him with a serious smirk.

Gerry nodded his agreement before he pulled himself up by his dad's shoulder and gave Clint a little kiss on the cheek. He leaned way over to do the same to Krissy, who giggled and hugged him back. "I love my fam-wy," Gerry told Clint with a little grin before he hopped down to go find his mom and give her a kiss too.

By the time the party was wrapping up, the hardest part was untangling the mess of kids and bamfs, who were all now involved in a game of "gone fightnin" that Charlie was clearly directing — with the clear division of teams between the bamf and the kids.

Sying was obviously tired and was rubbing his eyes, but when Noh picked him up and tried to take him away from the fun, he pitched a bit of a fit, pounding on his dad with his little fists until it was clear he wasn't going to get his way, and then he sulked quietly until Jubilee fed him and he went right to sleep.

Both Dani and Gerry complained loudly when Jess and Jessica came to get them, though Dani couldn't help but giggle when three bamfs teleported to give her hugs and pats on the head and wave goodbye. And Gerry was really ready for a nap and fell asleep once Jess took him away from the rowdy game long enough for him to stubbornly tell her "no" right before he drifted off.

But for the kids who actually lived in the mansion, the "gone fightnin" game lasted long after the adults had left the party until both twins and Elin were well and truly exhausted, and when K came to retrieve Elin from a hard day's play, she had to laugh on seeing that all three of the remaining kids had simply fallen asleep in the middle of the living room floor. The bamfs were tucking them in and arranging blankets, pillows, and couch cushions to make them more comfortable, too.

When Annie arrived to get the twins as well, her eyes were sparkling when she saw the scene laid out before them, and she beamed over at K. "I'm so glad you're back," she said sincerely. "I was honestly worried about Chance. He took it hard." She gestured over to where Chance was snuggling Elin even when he was totally exhausted and asleep. "He thinks the world of your daughter; it must be genetic," she added with a twinkle of laughter in her gaze. "Scott took it hard as well."

"He'll never admit it," K said, covering up the kids a bit better and not about to move them when the cuddle pile was too cute to mess with.

"No. Maybe not," Annie agreed with a small smile. "Not out loud."

"He looked like he wanted to hug him," she said quietly. "I would have paid for that."

Annie leaned forward with a sparkle in her eyes. "I've seen that happen."

"Okay, that's my unicorn now," K said. "A mythological creature that has had eye witnesses. And she shall be mine."

Annie laughed. "Keep sending that little girl of yours after him to soften him up," she teased. "Just melted that man's heart."

"He was pretty melty to begin with," K pointed out. "She just finished him off."

Annie chuckled and shook her head. "He's only going to be more of a marshmallow when the next one arrives. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, we'll see how that goes," she replied. "Still kinda early to be hedging bets."

"You act like he's not going to melt no matter what you have."

"The man likes babies, that's for sure. Probably dangerous for you to be hanging out this close." She paused and eyed her for a moment. "Unless …"

Annie leaned forward with a twinkle in her eyes. "Oh, we're trying."

"It probably won't take too long then," K said. "If you do like we did and wait ten minutes after deciding, Kurt will maroon you somewhere warm with nothing but winter clothes and act like the whole thing was his idea."

"Well, it will certainly help that he's  _around_ again," Annie pointed out, her eyes still twinkling. "That boy was sleeping in that bunker trying to get you three — well, you four — back home."

"Was it really that bad?" K asked, one eye shut in a wince as she looked Annie over. "We kinda figured life was easier without all the … attention? Bad press. That's it."

Annie shook her head. "Scott was miserable. So was everyone else, but I can mostly just speak to what I saw with him," she said. "He and Kurt threw themselves into that bunker. I hardly saw him when he wasn't near exhaustion."

"They didn't need to do all that," K said softly.

"Of course they did," Annie said, waving her off. "It kept them sane. Do you think it would have been better if they felt like they  _couldn't_ do anything to help?" She shook her head. "Scott doesn't do well feeling helpless."

"We really didn't think we'd be coming back at all," K told her. "Figured they'd more or less move on after a little while."

Annie snorted out a soft sort of laugh. "Then you clearly don't know Scott as well as you think you do. Or Kurt."

"Well ... no, not really," K admitted. "Outside of pissing both of them off more often than not? No."

Annie let out a sigh. "I know Scott and Logan fight… he's just so stubborn."

"That applies both ways," K agreed.

"But, honey, if you could see what I saw... " She shook her head. "You both mean the world to those boys. Kurt will tell you that, I'm sure, but Scott won't — and you should know it anyhow."

"He kinda fell apart when Elin called him Slim," K said. "I didn't teach her that one."

Annie smiled and nodded at that. "You said it — she finished him off." She leaned forward and put her hand on K's arm. "I'm so glad you're back," she said sincerely. "I missed having my husband happy."

"He deserves it," she replied before she nodded to herself and straightened up, adjusting her shirt as she did so. "Now. I'm going to make them go out for a beer this weekend."

"They may even enjoy it," Annie teased.

"There will have to be chaperones of course, you know. To call us for bail money."

"We'll have to find chaperones that won't also need bail money," Annie laughed. "And those are hard to come by."

K pulled a horrible face. "That … is going to be tough. Maybe Cap? And Spidey? We really just need one to not get arrested."

Annie thought about it for a long moment. "Yes, I think those two may be our only options," she agreed at last.

"I'll tell them they  _have_ to because we're going to do an all girls thing." She shook her head and half rolled her eyes. "We don't have to. But if we make it sound girly enough, they'll scatter."

"Leave that part to me," Annie chuckled. "I'm sure I can come up with something."

"If all else fails, I'll just promise them a stab wound for whoever stays behind." She shot Annie a crooked smirk. "That always works."

"And I could try to offer yours sweets. They seem to work like Wolverine repellent," Annie teased. "Since the stabbing might not work for him as a threat."

"Oh, for him, it's all about  _placement_ ," K chuckled. "It still works."

Annie just shook her head and laughed at that. "If you say so," she allowed before she tipped her head at the door. "Come on; let's leave these three to sleep. I wanted to ask you how you made the coffee taste so good. We've been  _dying_ without you, and Bobby has been trying his best, but… it's not the same."

"It's  _just_ coffee. Not rocket science," K said, though she stopped when she saw the bamfs near the door and pointed her finger at them. "You come get me if anyone here wakes up, got it?"

The bamfs all nodded in unison, and one of them teleported up to kiss her cheek and then teleport off again quickly, giggling.

"Flirt," K accused him before she and Annie headed off to the kitchen.


	14. Watch Your Mouth Around Annie

Everyone in the mansion was so thrilled to have the  _good_ coffee back, and breakfast was a much more lively event than usual for at least several days after Logan and K's return. Even the non-morning people were in lovely moods, because the coffee was back.

When the weekend came around, Leslie Ann came scooting into the kitchen at breakfast, since there weren't any classes that morning — beaming ear to ear as she set down a little potted plant in front of her bagel and cream cheese, her nose scrunched up in concentration as, with every bite, she was trying to grow the little green leaves.

"Whatcha growing today?" K asked, coffee in hand and her chin in her palm.

"Strawberries," she replied happily. "I really want strawberries."

"Strawberries would be good," K agreed. "How is your little lingonberry plant holding up? I know they're a little moody."

She sighed. "Those are harder than strawberries," she admitted.

"I know they are," K agreed. "So — when you're not fighting the strawberries — how have you been spending your winter?"

"Well," Leslie Ann said, biting her lip. "I've been going to school here ... it's pretty fun. Everybody says it'll be even more fun when Logan starts teaching history, but I liked Mr. Lensherr too."

"You know," K said, leaning toward her and talking in an almost secretive tone. " _I_ heard that history's going to have two teachers for a little bit."

"Ooh, is Logan going to teach with Mr. Lensherr? That… that's kinda weird," Leslie Ann said, wrinkling her nose."

"Would be weird. Yeah, No," K said shaking her head. "He's going to have Captain America join him for a few weeks."

Leslie Ann's jaw dropped, and her little strawberry plant positively shot up and started to bloom. "No. Way."

" _Apparently_ , while we were gone, someone let slip to Cap that Logan's World War Two section was a lot of fun, and he wants in." K gave her a little smile. "They fought together for a little bit, but not too long."

"That is going to be  _so cool_." Leslie Ann was positively beaming. "I'm so lucky to go to this school!"

"I'm pretty sure there are going to be a whole lot of grown-ups sitting in the back," K said. "I think Mr. Lensherr is one of them. He was just a kid when that war happened."

"Yeah, he told us some stories," Leslie Ann nodded. She tipped her head to the side. "I like that class, you know. That and Ms. Munroe's literature class." She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. "I  _wanted_ to take dance and riding lessons."

"Well, who says you can't?" K asked. "We can go riding."

"We can?" Leslie Ann perked right up and broke into a huge grin.

"Why not? Those horses have been on vacation longer than I have. Give me an hour with the one you'll ride to make sure it's safe still, and I'll get you riding in no time."

She beamed and threw her arms around K in a hug. "Thank you!" she gushed as her plant started to grow big, plump strawberries behind her.

"Look at that," K said, tipping her head toward the plant. "Berries."

Leslie Ann turned to look at her strawberries and then broke into a sheepish smile. "I'm  _trying_ to do that when it's not an accident," she admitted before she popped a strawberry in her mouth and handed one to K.

"So be happier when you try," K suggested as she looked over the bright red fruit.

"I try to be," she admitted. "It's been pretty… well. Things were not very happy for a while around here, especially at the beginning of the year when those creeps wanted to stick trackers in us!"

"You know, I had a plan for that," K told her with a troublemaking smile. "I was going to cut it out and shove it down a bear's throat, and when they finally tracked it down? They'd have nothing but a pile of bear crap in the woods."

She giggled outright. "Oh, they'd be  _so mad_."

"Let 'em," K replied before she took a bite out of the berry and nodded appreciatively. "Perfect."

"Thanks," Leslie Ann said, blushing slightly. "They're my favorite to make."

"They are excellent," K said. "Next time I make my pancakes, we'll put all kinds of berries on them, okay?" She took a long drink of her coffee and pushed away from the table. "Now. If you want to ride, I'm going to need a little time. Why don't you give me … oh. An hour and a half? When you get to the barn, I'll have a horse ready to go for you."

Leslie Ann grinned and nodded. "I'll be there!" she promised, then pointed at her little plant. "Maybe I'll try lingonberries again and bring some for the lesson."

"That would be amazing," K said. "But they really are moody little things." She gave Leslie Ann a wink and put her mug away, pausing in the living room only a moment at where Kate, Jubilee, and Noh were playing with the little ones. "Headed to the barn for a bit," she said. "Is Elin alright with you guys for now?"

The three adults looked up, and K could see that all three of them had been laughing, and Jubilee was still wiping tears from her eyes. "Oh yes," Noh called out, still chuckling. "She'll be fine. She… is trying to show Krissy the proper way to growl."

"Oh, no," K said with a little smile. "That … you better record that. Our little perfectionist."

Jubilee wiggled her cell phone so K could see it. "Oh, it's so being documented," she assured her. "The squeaks, the growls, the belly laughs, the whole nine yards."

"You're my favorite," K told her with a smirk.

"And don't you forget it!" Jubilee replied, flashing her a thumbs up.

With that, K headed out, though she did grab a warm vest and picked up her boots at the door to put on once she'd picked out the right horse and put it in the ties.

All of the horses there were good, calm animals, but she knew that only a handful had likely been ridden much at all while she was gone, so whoever she picked would need to jump through some hoops before she'd let the little girl on its back.

She picked out what the kids said was the ugliest gelding in the barn — a brown roan with a big roman nose and huge feet — but he was gentle, and it really didn't take long to get him settled and back into the swing of things.

The horse she'd ride however … that one was going to take a bit more. There were only a couple that were any good for leading other horses, and they had a tendency to be pushy and a bit strong-headed. But the big bay mare she picked was the safest bet. She had to work her for a good while, but once she was settled and saddled, she went right into 'business' mode.

Which was about when Logan headed down to the barn to see what exactly she thought she was doing.

"You're not riding," he told her, though K gave him a completely confused look as she glanced down at the horse she was sitting on.

"Could have fooled me," she replied. "Relax. This is a good one. Nice temper. Easy to work with — and Leslie Ann  _needs_ to get out of that house."

He glared at her and made his way forward to grab the reins. "Get down."

"No."

"Get down and quit tryin' to piss me off."

"No to both." She looked past him. "You can just knock it off. Right now. Scott is bringing her down. If you want something to do, go take him out for a beer. You both need one." She waved at the approaching duo with a bright smile before she said to Logan through the smile, "If you don't let go of my reins, I'm going to make this mare run you over."

He looked up at her for a moment and thought he'd call her bluff until she clicked low to the horse asking it to go forward a bit, and of course, the mare did, indeed start to walk right into him. He let go and took a few steps back as she went by, only to watch as she dismounted by the fence. "Don't touch my tack, or I'll ride bareback," K warned. "I'm going to go get Leslie Ann her horse." She tied the mare to the rail and headed up to catch her and Scott. "Thanks for bringing her down," K said to him. "But  _you_  can take your cranky friend and head to the bar. Have a drink. Share a laugh. Cry. Whatever. Don't need your help right now. Thanks."

"Are you sure you should be…?" Scott seemed to be trying to convince her without upsetting Leslie Ann, who was all but bouncing in place.

"I'm not training," K said. "I'm not breaking out a hard ride or a stubborn horse. These are all well-trained, gentle animals. So yes. Yes, I should be. But if you want to be a pain like someone else I know, I can tell you what I told him. Give me any flack and I'll drop the saddle. Just to watch you both twitch."

"Ooh, I want to learn how to ride bareback too!" Leslie Ann said.

"You will, angel, but not to start," K said as she laid her hand on Leslie Ann's shoulder. "Today, it's western. Safest you can get. Super easy, and … most of what you'd use trail riding." She gestured to the little gelding in the ties. "Paco is going to be your horse today."

Scott looked like he might try one more time to talk her into something else, but seeing as Leslie Ann was literally growing daisies where she stood, he just shook his head. "Have fun, girls."

K led the little girl to the horse and started going over the safety procedures and showed her how to lead Paco. That on its own took them at least twenty minutes — learning how to behave around him.

When they got to the arena, where K's horse was tied, Logan and Scott were at the fence by K's mare. "You have an  _audience,_  Leslie Ann," K said with a warm smile as she brought the two of them to the mounting block and clipped a rope on the horses' halter.

The young girl turned to see the two men and looked a bit shy. "Don't let me fall in front of Uncle Scott," she whispered.

"Don't worry about that," K told her. "You just relax and forget about those two." She started telling her how to relax, and how to feel if she was sitting right in the saddle as she had Paco walk in a circle around her with Leslie Ann on his back, her arms stretched out to her sides, finding her balance. "When you're ready, say his name, tell him to trot, and squeeze with your legs."

The little girl looked nervous but took a deep breath and did just that, looking a bit scared, then giggling madly as Paco trotted in a circle around K, still on the line. When Leslie Ann looked like she was actually  _really_ starting to relax, K led her over to Scott and handed him the rope. "Hold her while I get my horse," she told him before she walked by Logan with a warning look to untie the mare.

Once she was up too, she made her way over to where Leslie Ann was simply beaming at Scott and telling him how much fun it was. K leaned over to take the rope from Scott. "You two can go now." She glanced at Leslie Ann. "Is he making you nervous?"

She shook her head. "Uncle Scott says I'm a natural!"

"You're doing really well," K agreed. "But don't you think he and Logan need to go spend some time together? I think they could use a good lunch and some quiet time, don't you?"

She nodded and waved both of the men off. "I don't need you guys to babysit me. K's not going to let me fall off."

"And I could do this lesson while I was riding Roman style and not fall off," K promised toward Logan. "So go. This is easy."

The two men both looked like they wanted to argue at that. "Should be another adult around," Logan said.

"Let me put it another way," K said. "Leave, or I  _will_ teach this lesson while riding Roman style."

"What's Roman style?" Leslie Ann asked curiously.

"It's trick riding," K said. "You get  _two_ horses, and you stand on their backs — one foot on each."

"Oh, I don't want to learn how to do that," Leslie Ann said, with one eye squeezed shut as she thought it over.

"And you're not going to learn how to do it," Scott agreed.

"Just try to behave yourself for ten minutes," Logan said quietly.

"If — and only if — you two go get a beer," K replied with a sweet smile. "Together. Like brothers."

Scott shook his head at her before he tipped his head Logan's way. "Think Kurt would want to come?"

"Is he blue?" Logan said in his most sarcastic tone. "We can probably have him send a couple of his little demons to babysit these two."

"If you do that? Then I respectfully insist you have to bring Noh too. He needs some … guy time. You can send Annie down if you want a responsible adult. I'm sure Leslie Ann will be happy to show off for her aunt," K suggested.

"That's not a bad idea — on both counts," Scott admitted.

"It's called a great idea, Scott. Just admit it, embrace it — and get the hell out of here," K said. "We're just going to walk and trot in the arena." As she and Leslie Ann turned away from them, she called out a half-distracted sounding. "Love you, Logan — go away for a while."

By the time the men had gotten things set up and returned with Annie in tow, Leslie Ann was trotting and laughing with K right next to her, going over ground poles and learning how to steer without her reins.

Annie beamed and all but ran over. "Leslie Ann, you look amazing on that horse!" she called out.

"Wanna try to canter?" K asked. "I'll be right here with you, and it's easier than a trot."

Leslie Ann looked a bit uneasy but then saw her aunt and uncle and nodded. "Okay .. if it's easier than trotting."

"It's like riding a rocking horse," K promised before she told her how to get the horse to move a bit faster. Paco trotted faster and faster, getting Leslie Ann laughing harder as K told her to kick him harder, and all at once, he broke into a nice, easy lope. "There you go. Try to keep it up through the turn." But as soon as she tried to turn him, he dropped right down to a walk, with Leslie Ann out of breath and simply beaming.

"Keep going," K told her. "Just keep practicing your turns and stops and backing up. You're doing great." As Leslie Ann did that, K rode over to Scott and Annie. "She rides better than you, Scotty," K said as she crossed her arms over the saddle horn.

"Thanks for teaching her," Scott said with a smirk. "I haven't seen her grin that wide since she grew her first strawberry."

"It's physically impossible to not smile when you've gotten through your first canter," K told him. "And she needed some time outside. It's good."

"Now, you boys go," Annie insisted, pushing on Scott's shoulder. "Have fun. You need it!"

Logan still looked grumpy about being told to leave but seemed to lighten up a bit when K rode over to where he was at the fence and leaned all the way over to steal a quick kiss. "You need this," she told him. "I'll be here when you get back."

Logan let out a little sigh and called over to Scott. "You drivin' or am I?"

"You'll be driving at the end of the night anyhow," Kurt replied for him.

"I'll drive out then," Scott said with a small smirk.

The women watched until the guys were gone, then K kept riding a bit on her own as Leslie Ann practiced. She wasn't entirely sure when exactly the girl had gone from excitedly telling her aunt about her lesson to when she had started to watch K do her thing, getting the horse to work on its lateral moves and a few of the more upper level maneuvers — but when it was clear that Leslie Ann was done riding, K stopped too and dropped the reins on the mare's neck as they walked over to them.

"Okay, they're gone. I'm guessing you're tired?" K said to Leslie Ann.

The young girl nodded and giggled. "The horse is the one doing all the stuff — how come I'm so tired?"

"Paco is tired too," K said. "There are a lot of muscles you use when you ride, and they're all good for balance, but they're also ones you don't use all the time otherwise."

"Why don't we grab a bite to eat, Leslie Ann?" Annie offered. "Scott told me you grew some more strawberries, and I bet we can dip them in chocolate."

"Berries aren't sweet enough on their own?" K asked as she hopped off the horse and helped Leslie Ann down.

"Aunt Annie says you can never have too much chocolate," Leslie Ann laughed.

"I'm not sure that's entirely true," K said with a clearly skeptical look on her face. "But we should pick out something good for dinner while the guys are gone. What sounds good to you?"

"Well... " She thought about it. "Brye and Sylvia took me to where there's some really spicy wings, and those were  _amazing_." She leaned forward to add in a whisper, "I like spicy things  _and_ sweet things."

"Spicy sounds good," K said as they put the horses away and started to feed them. She told the girl what to give the horses for their dinner, and as Leslie Ann ran back and forth dropping grain in the bins, K turned to Annie. "Looks like my hair will be handy anyhow. Doubt anyone will recognize me in public like this."

"That might not be a problem anyway," Annie told her. "Things are finally starting to settle."

"I doubt that somehow," K replied. "But we'll see."

"I understand why you'd be a bit reluctant," Annie said, then let out a sigh. "Tyler's been a bit nervous to go out too — you know the family resemblance didn't help him much."

"I'm sure it hasn't," K said before she tipped her head to the side. "Think he'd want to join us?"

"Oh, I think we should bring him, Daisy,  _and_ Hank — they've all been a bit cooped up anyway," Annie agreed. "And you know Leslie Ann loves him. All the kids do. He's a sweetheart and a half."

"She loves Hank or Tyler?" K asked as Leslie Ann finished up the last of the grain, grinning as the last horse half snorted at her.

"Oh, both of them," Annie laughed.

"Everyone missed Doctor Fuzzy and His Sidekick," Leslie Ann reported with a grin before she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, don't tell them that's what the kids call them."

"Oh, that's beautiful," K said. "In fact … I think Dr. Fuzzy need a new ringtone. Something old. And from Sesame Street." She looked to Annie for a moment. "I'm sure you're familiar with it. Old Kindergarten teacher such as yourself."

Annie laughed. "Are you kidding? I grew up on Sesame Street! I love it."

"So," K said with a growing smile. "You are familiar with the Grover classic ' _Fuzzy and Blue_ '?"

Annie clapped her hands together. "Oh, I love it. That's a  _perfect_ song for him!"

K smirked and draped an arm around both Leslie Ann and Annie. "Then let's get the McCoys rounded up and treat them, shall we?"

* * *

It was  _hours_ later when the guys returned, trying desperately to stay quiet as they crept through the dark halls, half holding each other up. When they got to the kitchen, Annie was there, watching them as they all came to a stop in front of her — and seconds later, half of them burst out laughing.

"He's a little rougher than he was when he left," Logan said with a grin as he let go of Scott, who was leaning on him rather heavily.

Annie tried hard to be annoyed — or mad — or something, but she was finding it hard not to grin when it was clear her husband had had a good time with his friends for the first time in months, so she let Scott lean on her instead of Logan. "What did you boys do to him?" she asked, deciding to focus her ire on them instead of Scott.

"We went out — like you told us to," Kurt defended with a wide grin, clearly half drunk himself.

"And we introduced Noh to the bar — like K told us to," Scott told her as he leaned into her a bit and kissed her cheek with a sloppy grin.

"Scott here led the charge," Logan said with an almost proud tone.

"Our fearless leader," Noh agreed. He was leaning on Kurt a bit for support, watching the floor to make sure he knew where to put his feet.

"What'd you girls get up to while we were gone?" Logan asked, heading to the fridge for a bottle of water.

"Oh, we had a great time," Annie said as Scott leaned further into her hair with that same grin. "We took Tyler and his new stepfather and Daisy out to eat — and Leslie Ann proved that she can eat the spiciest wings in the restaurant, while Hank can  _not_."

"You guys didn't have any trouble, did you?" Logan asked, a bit more seriously.

"Oh, not really," Annie said, though she was grinning as she held Scott a bit tighter. "Nobody brought assault charges against me, anyway — and really, I couldn't  _not_ punch that man."

All of them straightened up a bit and looked more concerned. "What happened?" Scott asked, though he still kept his nose buried in her hair.

Annie waved her hand with a look of disdain. "The man seemed to think it was acceptable to come to our dinner table and say  _vulgar_ things in front of my eleven-year-old niece."

"What kind of vulgar things?" Kurt asked.

"Oh, it started with our good doctor, moved on to Tyler — and I'm afraid he thought that K was Tyler's mother, not Daisy, and… well… I'm just tired of it. It's been months. And I'm  _done_."

"And you got there before K did?" Logan asked with a frown. "How did that happen?"

"I was sitting on the edge seat of the booth. She was further back watching Leslie Ann turn bright red eating the hot wings," Annie explained with a smile. "It really wasn't anything; the people at the booth next to us were nice enough to help me escort him out after I hit him."

"Good for you," Logan said as he held out his hand. "You hurt anything?"

Annie looked a bit embarrassed. "I did hurt my hand, but Tyler fixed me up," she said in a low whisper before she broke into a smirk. "He had a thick skull."

"Just got mad and hit with everything you had, didn't you?" Logan asked.

"I've been told I have a temper," she said with a laugh.

"Guy's lucky K was stuck further in," Logan said. "She's been itchin' for a fight."

"Maybe I'll let her help me next time," Annie giggled.

"Sounds like he was awfully bold to try and start something with  _that_ group of ferals," Kurt said.

Annie shook her head. "Well, I don't think he knew who K was — he just called her Tyler's mother and made some remarks I will  _not_ repeat about how that came to happen. That's when I hit him." She pulled a face. "In front of my niece!"

"Why doesn't that ever happen when I go out?" Logan asked Noh.

Noh grinned at him crookedly. "The family resemblance would be difficult to imagine ... the size disparity alone is…" He frowned for a moment and tried to think of a word. "...not… family-like."

Logan stared at him for a moment as he continued to grin. "Right. You two have a good night, Slim," he said to Scott and Annie. "I'm gonna get these two to their keepers."

Scott waved his hand at Logan — he wasn't even looking his way, and Annie was laughing at him. "You do that," he said, hardly waiting for the others to head out before he pulled Annie into a long, gentle, lingering kiss.


	15. Don't Mess With The X-Men

The mansion was a little quieter when Spring Break rolled around.

Well, quieter until Clint and Natasha showed up, and then there was a lot of squealing and screaming as Clint seemed to be trying to take on everyone under the age of five at once.

"You're doing it again," K called out to him as the kids started to back off of the dogpile on Clint.

"Doing what?" Clint called back, still lying on the floor and grinning.

"Playing in your mental age group," she replied as she walked up. "Glad to see they didn't completely do you in. Want some coffee while they regroup for their next attack?"

He grinned and climbed to his feet. "Coffee's always good," he agreed.

"May not be your thing, but Annie was nerve baking? Or something. I'm not sure. She has excuses to bake all the time. Anyhow. Cinnamon rolls today. She was out of bananas."

He grinned even wider at that. "That sounds good. I've heard legends about the Annie baking sprees," he teased.

"She gets carried away — but this recipe is mine," she said with a smirk. "She's hoping to tempt me into craving something."

Clint snorted and shook his head at that. "How's that going, anyway?" he asked as they headed for the kitchen.

"Oh, you know. Everything is where it should be," K said with a shrug. "Got the date to aim for."

He grinned. "What's the target?" he asked, chuckling at his own little archery-related pun.

"December 6th," she said as she poured him a cup of coffee.

His jaw dropped openly, and he started to  _grin_. "No way. That — that's  _beautiful_."

"I didn't make it to the last due date," she told him. "But Kate looked like her head was going to explode at that one."

"She tell you why?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"She did  _not_ ," K replied, though she was watching him a bit more carefully now. "She just got very obnoxious."

"Well." Clint sat up a bit straighter and started to laugh despite himself. "I hope your kid doesn't mind sharing a birthday with me."

K raised one eyebrow and stared back at him for a moment. "Seriously?" she asked, setting her mug on the counter with a little smirk at the corner of her mouth.

He broke into a grin that was somehow even more obnoxious than before. "Seriously, bro."

She started to chuckle at that. "Oh my God. That's golden." She looked shocked for just a few moments longer. "Oh, but I can't … oh man. I can't use anything from your names. At all."

He made a face. "Please, never ever do," he agreed. "Don't inflict Francis on anybody else. I'll carry that burden all on my own."

"I'm reasonably sure that if I even considered it, I'd never hear the end of it from Wade," K told him. "Kate slipped him my email. He is worse than a spammer. He's already suggesting names. Lots of them."

Clint shook his head. "Sorry about him. He's a good guy, just… yeah."

"No, it's fine, really," K replied with a little wave. "Much better than the groping last time around."

"Sorry about that too." Clint shook his head but still looked like he hadn't come down from the high of his possible birthday buddy.

"Of course, Kurt is hoping that this was a mistaken date?" K said. "And that this happens a few weeks sooner."

"Oh no. This is  _my_ birthday present," he teased.

"Well, just in case? I'm going to plan on getting you a  _gift._ "

"And you can use it for Christmas," he said with a wide smile before he snitched a cinnamon roll.

"That would be fine with me," she replied. "But it's all up to the little one, sadly. Otherwise, there is  _another_  contender."

"Oh?" He looked mildly interested around his bite of cinnamon roll.

"Logan's the 30th," she replied.

"Of November?"

"Yep," she said, nodding her head.

Clint frowned as he thought it over, then shrugged and went right back to looking like he was floating. "Well, that would be good too. Being a dad on your own birthday. Can't beat that for gifts."

"Well, the chances of that being the case are pretty damn small," K admitted. "So we'll just have to see what happens. Either way ... it's going down as the aim-for date."

Clint grinned again and gave her a quick hug before he snitched another roll. "These are good."

"They'll make you fat," she replied.

"Spend too much time running from my own idiot mistakes to get fat," he replied, not missing a beat.

"Good point," she conceded, picking one up for herself and taking the seat next to him. "You should have two more. Just in case you need the extra boost later."

"You know something I don't know?" he teased. "Need to get more running shoes?"

"Nah," she said with a shrug. "I just saw the way those kids were eyeballin' you … and they're whispering around the corner on what they're going to do next."

"I'll make sure to be very, very surprised when they surprise attack me," Clint said, laughing outright.

"You don't do that whenever anyone surprise attacks you?" K asked with a little laugh as she bumped his shoulder.

"Well, it depends on who's attacking me," he grinned right back. "The ones that are three feet and under get the terrified fake screams."

"If you fake scream the next time I turn the corner, I'll slap you."

"See, now you've just given away the entire punchline," he teased, tipping his coffee mug in greeting to Logan and Kurt as the two men came in from a run around the grounds. "Can I do it to him, though?" he asked.

"You can try?" K chuckled. "Though I doubt he'd get the joke without the backstory." She looked up at Logan. "Hey, due date's his birthday."

"Doesn't matter — won't be it," Logan said easily.

"Oh ye of little faith," Clint all but sang out his way.

"The date's entirely wrong," Kurt said with a nod. "The baby is just smaller than most at this age. Just like his big sister."

"Yeah, but isn't yours like a month before mine?" Clint made a face at him. "Shooting a little  _too_ early there."

"Have you seen the size difference between Krissy and Elin? Hank is  _wrong_ on the date," Kurt insisted.

"Except he's going by development," K said, trying to convince Kurt otherwise. Again.

But Kurt waved his hand with a frown. "It's not an exact science."

"It is this time," Clint insisted before he stuffed the rest of the cinnamon roll in his mouth and grinned at the others, tipping his head toward the half-open kitchen door where, by then, even those without enhanced hearing could hear the whispers and giggles. "I'm going to go to the living room," he told the others loudly and clearly. "I bet the kids are all waiting for me there — we were going to paint."

With that, Clint headed out of the kitchen and was immediately attacked from both sides by all the kids, who were all doing their best war cries over the sound of Clint pretending to scream. Charlie even helped Krissy crawl on top of Clint to be part of the takedown once they had him.

Logan and K both winced at the scream, and he leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "You sure it'd be a good idea to share a day with that guy?" She grinned at him in response and pulled him over for a better kiss moments before the alarms went off, startling everyone in the room.

Elin was the first up from the pile and running toward her mother, looking terrified. K scooped her up in one arm and made it a few more steps before she reached down to do the same for Krissy. "What's the new plan?" K asked as the two little girls tried to hide in her shirt, ears covered and crying.

"First we get the little ones somewhere safe," Kurt told her as Clint tried to hush the other three little ones — with Sying holding his ears and screaming in pain and terror, kicking Clint a couple times, though Clint didn't do anything except to try to shush him while the twins hid under his arms and he pulled them both in.

Logan took a few steps to grab Sying and try to settle him out, taking no chances in letting anyone else get in the way of his flailing limbs. When he wouldn't relax even for Logan, he growled out in frustration, and the little guy's eyes widened as he fell very quiet, instead just silently crying to himself.

And Kurt had one hand on both Logan and K's shoulders and went to teleport them out of there — but he let out a frustrated growl when he simply couldn't.

"Plan B then," Logan said, catching Clint's attention to direct him, with Kurt leading the way to the lower levels.

"What happening?" Chance asked over Clint's shoulder; he had both of the twins in either arm. "Bad guys?"

"Yeah, little buddy, bad guys," Clint agreed. "Don't worry — we're gonna kick their butts."

The four of them ran down the stairs, not taking a chance at getting caught in the elevator. As they went deeper, the alarms got quieter and quieter until the only indicator that they were still going was the slowly blinking red lights that dotted the sublevels.

"Danger Room," Kurt shouted over his shoulder, first to get there and punching in his code before the other three caught up. Once they were all inside, he put in some codes that sealed the room. "No one can get in or out until this is over, or I get my abilities back," he explained, mostly for Clint's benefit — though the ferals weren't up on the new protocols yet either.

Clint nodded and turned to the twins. "Hear that? Nobody can get in here, so we're safe, okay?" He ruffled both of their hair and kissed the tops of both of their heads.

K found a place apart from the group, then leaned against the wall and slid to the floor with the two little girls. "Are you two okay now?" she asked, one hand on each of their heads.

Elin snuggled in deeper and reached over to pat Krissy on the arm until Kurt got close enough to pick her up and cuddle her for himself. The little purple elf curled right up into her dad, but she was looking over his shoulder at the other kids and frowning at Sying.

Sying looked nearly inconsolable again now that he was separated from everyone and half scared from Logan's growl, but that very slowly eased up as Logan headed over nearer to K and Elin and sat on the floor, gently cuddling the little fella and talking to him in a low rumble until he relaxed and began to calm down.

"Any idea who's attacking, or should I venture a guess?" Logan asked in that same low, calming tone.

"I'm not sure, but I think your idea is as good as mine," Kurt said with a frown. "This feels fairly familiar."

"And all the heavy hitters are stuck babysitting," K said. "That can't be good."

"Except you're forgetting that Nat's out there, and so's Katie," Clint piped up. He was messing up the twins' hair as they kept trying to fix it — only to have it messed up again. "Plus, way Katie told it, those guys wanted the bitties, so I think we're right where we should be."

"That doesn't sound real encouraging," Logan said with a frown. "How long have they been eyeballin' the kids, and do they know who belongs with who?"

Kurt snuggled Krissy as he glanced at her — since there was no missing who she belonged to. "Last time they came here, they had standing orders to take anyone younger than student-age. I don't know more than that — even with how much we've been digging."

"But you were digging into the past — not the present," K pointed out.

"True," Clint said, tipping his head. "And it didn't seem like they knew which kids were which when one of their creep doctors was asking Katie about 'em."

"They have plenty of DNA on file," Logan pointed out. "Wouldn't take much to figure it out."

"Not to mention the family resemblances," Kurt said in a low tone, his tail completely still behind him as he tightened his hold on Krissy the slightest.

"Are you talking about my purple daughter?" K teased.

"Yes, of course — and Jubilee and Noh's white-haired little boy," Kurt said. "Not to mention the carbon copy of Scott," he added, tipping his head at Chance, who had his best 'brave the storm' face on as he watched the scared babies in the room with a frown.

"Chance," K said softly. "Do you want to snuggle with Elin?"

Chance nodded quietly. "Is she scared?"

"She doesn't look very happy," K said, holding her free arm out. "Come on. Charlie, you too if you want."

Both of the twins glanced at Clint, who held up his arms to let them go — and the both ran over to snuggle K and Elin. "It otay. Daddy gon fightnin and beat bad guys," Chance told Elin, clearly doing his best to reassure her.

Which only ended up getting a giggle from Charlie when Elin reached over and covered his mouth with her hand and told him to "Shhhhhhush."

Clint had to laugh a bit at the picture in front of him as the twins and Elin looked to be all but squishing K. "Krissy, you wanna help the twins and Elin? It's pile on K today."

Krissy looked over Kurt's shoulder and seemed to size up the cuddle pile with a little frown before, slowly, she nodded her head, and Kurt let her down beside K. The little girl climbed up to wrap her tail around the closest kid — Charlie — and snuggle in.

K had long ago run out of lap or space for all of them, but they didn't seem to mind much. "Okay. A word of warning," she said, looking from one man to the next. "Any of you breathes a word about all these kids being a good look — and you will lose something very dear to you."

Clint snorted. "I didn't have to say it. Picture's worth a thousand."

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice, Barton. I will remove it and then shove it somewhere for you." She was almost laughing though as she continued. "Nat will need both hands and a flashlight to retrieve it."

"Logan, your wife is threatening me," Clint said in the tone of a tattletale kid.

"She does that," Logan replied easily. "Don't rile her and it won't happen as easy."

* * *

Outside of the Danger Room, though, the rest of the team was rushing to address the attack, including the junior squad.

"There are very bad guys all over the place," Tommy said over the comms. "I can do a quick head count if you need it." There was barely a pause before he came back. "Oh. Oh, this is gonna take me a while. Dampeners or something. Ew. Give me a minute — this can't be allowed to stand."

Cassie let out a breath as she and the rest of the younger team were already heading out into the hallway, their friendly but competitive game of Mario Kart abandoned for the excitement of the alarms going off everywhere. "How'd they get through Noh's security?" she asked incredulously.

"I'd venture a guess at massive numbers, sheer force and some nasty freakin' advanced EMP's," Ziggy said.

Sophia rushed to the nearest window to look out at the quickly approaching mass of bad guys. "Oh, they're gonna be sorry for messing with us," she declared, though she didn't sound the least bit confident. " _Turn around and go back where you came from!_ " she sang out, though only the soldiers closest to her could hear her over the noise of the invasion — and the dampeners were still up anyway.

Brye vaulted past her through the open window with her quiver in hand as she called out to Sophia, "Nice try, babe. Let's get a little closer, huh?"

"We've practiced for this, right?" Tyler said as he got moving. "Just … do what we practiced."

Ziggy and Rico made a rush for the bad guys, with Ziggy right behind her boyfriend as he simply pounced on the first guy he saw and tore a gun from the soldier's hands to toss to Ziggy. It looked a bit more complicated than some of the stuff they had seen, but as soon as she'd run her hands over it for a few seconds, she was wielding it like a pro to keep anyone from getting too close to Rico while he was fighting.

" _Put your guns down!_ " Sophia tried when one of the soldiers got too close — and to her surprise, it worked, and Rico and Ziggy punched and blasted through the few who had been affected.

"Powers're back!" Brye said with a grin, blowing a kiss Sophia's way before they dove back in.

Tyler, meanwhile, had simply plowed into the advancing soldiers with a snarl on his lips, and though he was loathe to let out his claws, he had no trouble whatsoever simply backhanding the grown men across the mansion lawn and making it look completely effortless. That however, really only made him into a massive target; the soldiers knew a good catch when they saw one. It took next to no time for them to start closing in on Tyler, working around his patterns of attack to try pulling him down.

"Oh. No. No, no. No," Tammy said when she saw the way the soldiers were all but corralling Tyler. Before she'd even really thought about it, she threw out both hands to telekinetically pitch four soldiers at once halfway across the grounds and away from Tyler as she rushed over to help.

" _Leave Tyler alone!_ " Sophia sang out from where she and Brye were pretty well surrounded.

Brye had called out for help from any of the critters living in the woods, and occasionally, one of the soldiers would very suddenly stop and start itching or rolling and trying to get rid of the bugs attacking him. There were a few raccoons and deer, too — but the real backup came when an angry bear came bursting out of the trees into a group of soldiers who simply hadn't been prepared for it. And to round out the group, Cassie and Hisako were a bit further out from the others — at a giant size and taking on the bigger problems like the helicopters and the heavier artillery.

* * *

On the other side of the institute, Scott had been surprised to see the giant forms of two of his junior squad taking on the soldiers further out, and he went to his comm with his eyebrows high. "Why'd they drop the dampeners? Where is everyone?"

"I hate dampeners," Tommy's voice came back in reply. "I decided they needed to be smashed."

"Thank you," Scott said before he tried to dial in Kurt. "We could use a little back up — and I'd like Annie somewhere safe — and Jubilee had a soldier blast her with some kind of percussive gun. Both of them need to get out  _now_."

"Honey, just give me some more ammo," Annie argued, and Scott could hear the kids on the other end giggling despite the seriousness of the situation, probably wondering where she'd gotten a comm in the first place.

"Sweetheart, as much as I appreciate your Annie Oakley impersonation, you're all out of ammo," Scott teased.

"I can take Annie and Jubilee to safety. I have Wolverine and Hawkeye with me — and all the little ones are with K," Kurt said over the comms. "Does anyone else need an escape?"

"I haven't heard back from Storm," Scott said, though almost on cue a low, earth-shattering rumble of thunder rolled overhead. "Nevermind, she's fine."

Kate chuckled. "And I thought I married the dramatic one."

"I don't want to imagine the drama that would happen if Nightcrawler was the one that could manipulate the weather," Scott said dryly. "Take them to your safe zone, then get these two out."

* * *

When the alarms had gone off, Hank had been in the lab with Daisy and Leslie Ann — who had scraped herself up pretty badly when she was trying to grow roses and had lost her temper when one of the other kids teased her about her strangely-colored roses. She hadn't been able to decide between red or white, so they were spotty and strange-looking.

"Maybe — maybe I should grow things that aren't so thorny until I have more control," Leslie Ann said, wincing as Hank gently pulled a thorn from underneath her elbow.

"Don't let them discourage you," Hank said with a kind smile. "You should grow whatever you like."

"Yeah, but…" She let out a sigh. "I can't control it. And thorns hurt."

"I believe that Storm would tell you that should be incentive to be more careful and learn quicker," he replied. "You should ask her one day about how long it took her to keep from stirring up a tornado when she got too angry."

Leslie Ann nodded with wide eyes. "Yeah ... tornadoes are way more dangerous than thorns." She winced again as he pulled out another couple of thorns before he was done. He was just reaching to give her a Twinkie when the alarms went off.

"Oh dear," he said with a wince before he gently gave her the treat and moved to look at the security feed on his computer. "Oh. Dear. We should find more sturdy accommodations."

"What's going on?" Daisy asked over his shoulder as she slipped over to see what was up.

"It appears as though we're being invaded by less-than-friendly forces," he replied.

Leslie Ann looked up from her treat and frowned. "They're  _here_? At the school?" she asked, sounding a little shaken.

He gave her a confident, calming smile. "Not to worry, my dear. We have provisions in place to handle such calamities."

"Can I help?" she asked, standing up to her full, still very short height with her hands in fists. "Logan's been teaching me how to fight."

"Hopefully, you won't need to use that knowledge today," Hank said as he guided them to a secret exit off the lab. "Seeing as we will be exiting the premises."

"And you know your uncle and the other X-Men will be taking care of the problem by the time we get where we're going," Daisy added with a reassuring smile.

"Yes, I'm quite sure that Uncle Cyke will have the matter well in hand — considering the mood he's been in when it comes to this particular brand of irritants," Hank said, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

"I've never seen him fight bad guys," Leslie Ann admitted in a little pout. "Not really ... I mean…. On TV."

"Well then," Hank said as he led them through the door. "If the bamfs record anything noteworthy and suitable for young viewers, I'll be sure you get to see it."

She stuck her chin out a bit defiantly. "You don't have to baby me. I  _am_ eleven."

"He's not trying to baby you, sweetheart," Daisy promised. "It's more that  _he_ doesn't like it when it's too … brutal. He doesn't like seeing anything some of the other team members do."

She seemed to consider this explanation for a moment before she crossed her arms and had to nod. "Okay,  _fine_. But as soon as I learn how to control this stuff, I'm gonna be an X-Man, so you  _can't_ baby me."

"That sounds like a reasonable arrangement," Hank agreed with a little smile. But the smile slipped fairly quickly as the sound of marching boots reached his sensitive ears. He paused and listened intently, though by the time he'd gotten an idea of how many were headed their way, Daisy and Leslie Ann could hear them too — and Leslie Ann grabbed Daisy's hand in one of hers with a look that was equal parts scared and determined.

There was nowhere good to hide — and backtracking wasn't an option, seeing as the door had been sealed after they passed through it. But Hank's panic melted into pure rage when he heard the commanding officer of this unit mutter low to his men: "Be sure not to kill any of the kids. We need to bring as many back as we can."

The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up, and he didn't even realize he was starting to growl until Leslie Ann asked, "Are we in trouble?"

"No, my dear girl," Hank said, flashing his canines. "They are." He lunged forward, bouncing off the walls on all fours as he rushed ahead with a snarl. From where Daisy and Leslie Ann were, they could only see the muzzle flash from their weapons and hear Hank's snarls and the men's screams and shouts.

Leslie Ann carefully sneaked a bit closer to see what was going on, though when a couple soldiers spotted her and started her way, before Hank could even get to them, she was startled into throwing her arms over her head, and the roots in the ground around them seemed to mirror her movements, not only pulling themselves further into the ground in front of her to form a small protective barrier but also tangling the soldiers that had been menacing her so Hank could focus on the others. A bit encouraged, she tried to keep pulling soldiers down with roots, though the results weren't nearly as successful when she wasn't just reacting.

The rest of the fight was quick, and Hank was sure to disarm and disable all of their weaponry after he had them unconscious. He was livid as he hit the comm to get Scott's help. "I need someone to get two out," Hank said. "We had a breach in the tunnels."

"Nightcrawler is taking care of the kids — I'll send him your way," was the quick response before, moments later, Kurt appeared in the tunnels and quickly took in the scene with a deep frown on his face as Henry pushed his glasses up on his nose a bit.

"I don't need — I can help! I did help!" Leslie Ann tried to argue.

"You already did a beautiful job," Hank said, though the growl was not gone from his voice. "But I'm afraid they never should have gotten this close to you. Kurt, have you got a safe spot?"

"K is there already with the little ones," Kurt said, before he held out a hand to Leslie Ann with a reassuring smile. "The twins could use your smiling face — this is all very scary for the littlest ones."

She pouted with her lower lip pushed way out for a moment before she nodded and took his hand, and Kurt took Daisy's as well before he disappeared with the two of them in a poof of smoke.

The three of them reappeared in K's hidden-away cottage, where Annie was helping K patch up Jubilee as Charlie tried to help by holding out gauze and bandages. Kurt had also pulled in Noh to deal with Sying, who was now upset on seeing his mom hurt, and they needed someone a little stronger to deal with the upset little one — though Noh had quite a few cuts and bruises of his own from fighting the soldiers alongside Tommy at high speeds.

"Oh, here — let me," Daisy offered, rushing over to help, while Leslie Ann went over to where the other little ones were to do what she could to help redirect them, since they were all eyeing the injured Jubilee nervously.

"Don't worry," Leslie Ann told the kids as the twins in particular ran over to snuggle their cousin. She leaned down with a twinkle in her eye. "I got to help fight bad guys. Wanna hear about it?" That at least got them to brighten up, and soon, the little girl had a very enthusiastic audience.

"How bad is it?" K asked, watching Kurt before he could take off again. "And don't try to bullshit me."

Kurt let out a small sigh as he turned her way. "They breached the tunnels under the school — but they haven't gotten inside yet."

K nodded and turned to look toward Annie and Jubilee with a bit of a sigh. "That sounds firmly in the 'very bad' category."

"I'd've stuck around to help, but I ran out of ammunition," Annie admitted. "I borrowed that rifle of yours."

"And you loved it," K said with a smirk.

"Yes, I think I'm going to need one for my birthday," Annie said with a twinkle in her eyes. "Easier to shoot than what my daddy took me out on the range with growing up, actually."

"Tony likes to make them very user-friendly," K said with a nod before she looked at Kurt — who was clearly ready to go. "Just so we know: Are you headed back for more kids? Logistics. I need to know how many will be here."

Kurt let out a sigh. "Thankfully, most of the students were gone for the break — I think this is everyone who was still at the school," he said. "Tommy is checking to be sure we got everyone out."

"That's a relief," Jubilee said, letting out a sigh. "Okay — go. Help them."

Kurt nodded and went to teleport back to the fight — though as he did so, K moved faster than he'd prepared for and got a hand on his shoulder, ending up with him on the front lawn where Scott, both Hawkeyes, and Erik were holding back any soldiers that got past Logan, trying to keep them from getting into the mansion — and from grabbing anyone.

She didn't wait to orient herself before she darted off away from him and into the fray, diving in to push the stragglers past Logan's line.

"That was dirty!" Kurt shouted after her, drawing both swords to rush toward her to try and either catch up — or at least cover her.

"Hey, turnabout, big guy," K called back as she drove her claws through a soldier's gun — and then him too.

Just then, a high-pitched whine sounded as an arrow zipped past both of them and into one of the soldiers, who was electrocuted on the spot, and Clint caught up to the two of them with a wide grin. "Experimental," he said, waving one of the arrows. "I like 'em. Nat's right — the bites are fun."

"Has she tried the new one from Tony? One shot — but it's a hell of a shot," K asked, sure to keep a good gap between herself and Kurt so he couldn't teleport her away from the fight and back to the others at her cottage. And she knew that's what he was trying to do, too.

"Oh yeah — she was using those when we were fighting these guys without you two," Clint said, tipping his head at the soldiers. "She loves 'em."

"Sounded like you could use a little extra help," K said.

But at that moment, K could feel the magnetic pull in her bones just a split second before all of the guns in the wave of soldiers in front of them simply flew from the soldiers' hands, crushed into little wads of metal before they hit the ground, and Erik waved his hand at her. "I think we have the matter in hand," he said.

"I love you? But I'm stabbing people," K replied. "I'd rather it be people that I don't like, but I'm not gonna be too picky right now. Call it a craving."

"You do realize these guys are gunning specifically for  _you two_ ," Scott called out as he blasted a line of soldiers.

"And if the shoe was on the other foot, would you be sitting back and letting everyone take the heat?" K snarled back. She didn't wait for an answer before she dove into it harder. "I don't think so."

"Do you have any idea how much they'd like to get their hands on you while you're …  _like this_?" Scott shot back, only barely checking himself in his frustration.

She glared at him for a moment between eviscerations. "Don't. Just don't. I hid when I shouldn't have — this is in large part  _my_  mess."

"Okay ... I usually don't step in stupid arguments? But to be fair? This is also largely  _our_ mess. Because we poked them. Pretty darn hard. Publicly," Kate pointed out as one of the soldiers got a bit too close for her liking and she ran him through with her sword instead of shooting him — because she was running low on arrows.

"Which you wouldn't have been doing if they hadn't tried to tweak us," K argued.

"How about less talking more fighting?" Clint broke in with an almost pleading tone. "Fight each other later, children."

"There is a problem when  _he's_ the one that makes the most sense," K snarled, though when she got a bit closer, Logan looked far more irritated than Scott did. "You need help," K told him point blank. "Take it." He shook his head at her but nodded a moment before he slipped closer, and the two of them started to work side by side.


	16. If You Die, I'll Kill You

Natasha had been working behind the enemy lines to sabotage the department's communications and generally cause mayhem, but she quickly redirected herself when she saw that there was a group of  _teenagers_ trying to fight off the soldiers.

To their credit, they were doing fairly well — they had half the forest animals on their side, and one of them had charmed a few soldiers into fighting  _for_ them. But still ... these were overwhelming forces. So, Natasha sprang up behind a soldier who had managed to get a grip on one kid who had a scorpion tail — she'd seen him around the school but didn't remember his name — and simply broke the man's neck before she ushered the student away and toward safety.

"What are you all  _doing_ out here?" she said, sounding exasperated, even though she already knew the answer to the question before they spoke up.

"Hey, we're X-Men," said the young woman with a bow and a crow on her shoulder — apparently one of Kate's little proteges.

"Yeah, we're not going to shy away from a fight," said the scorpion-like one.

Natasha sighed and fought the urge to roll her eyes before she settled in to fight alongside them. The least she could do was make sure that these kids didn't get themselves in any further in over their heads than they already were.

She looked beyond the little group of them to see a rather impressive-looking knot of soldiers. "Who's in trouble?" she asked, pointing herself that way.

"Oh, um ... Tyler's a feral, so they're kinda… targeting him," replied a girl who looked a few years younger than the others, with brilliantly shiny scales. "Tammy's helping him."

Natasha didn't have to ask who Tammy was; she could see the blond girl floating above the knot of soldiers and throwing some of them aside — with a few flying several feet in the air only to come down in the forest to be attacked by the creatures waiting there.

She was about to rush over to help the two kids in that large knot when she heard ...  _singing_.

" _Let go of me!_ " called out the girl with the scales, and Natasha spun around in surprise to find that, in fact, the soldier released his grip.

She was going to have to ask Cyclops to fill her in on this new generation, she decided as she flat out tackled the guy who thought grabbing a small little girl was a good idea while she was around, and he writhed in agony underneath her for a long moment before she finally killed him.

When she looked up again, she was just in time to see movement In the middle of the knot of soldiers. One of them finally gotten a hold of Tammy.

Tyler had barely heard her muffled cry for help in time to turn and see for himself that they were pulling her back — pinned down, with one of them covering her mouth with his hand.

He didn't even think or process it as he went beyond a snarl and into an honest to God roar that got half of those on the lawn of the school to just … stop for a second before he tore into them, claws out and snarling as he cut through them seemingly without thinking about it. Those that were holding on to Tammy were the first to really get it; it seemed he was completely single-minded about punishing those that were trying to hurt her.

But even when she was freed, Tyler just … kept going. He was tearing through soldiers left and right, and it didn't look like he would stop anytime soon.

Natasha was the closest to what was going on, and she half barked at the rest of the kids to move their fight somewhere else before she took off running his way. "Nice energy; do you want me to finish up while you get your girl out, or should I do that part?" she called out to him as she got a bit closer.

The question seemed to draw his attention, and he slowed for a moment then simply stopped altogether as he realized he was half covered in blood and his claws were out. And just that fast, he went from snarling feral to shell-shocked teenager.

She quickly moved to cover him and start diving into the soldiers for herself, calling over her shoulder, "I'll finish up, then — you make sure Tammy is safe."

He looked up from his bloody hands to watch her fighting before it really sunk in. "Yeah. Got it," he said quietly before he took a few steps backward, then turned to run toward where the rest of the junior team was — near the horse barn.

Tammy had been massaging her arms but looked up on his approach and flat ran to meet him, her eyes wide. She didn't quite have the words yet for what had just happened.

He held his hands up in front of himself. "Woah, don't … I need to wash this off," Tyler said. "Then I'll fix whatever they did to you."

But Tammy ignored that and continued to duck under his arm as she looked him over and finally asked, in her usual soft whisper, "Is any of it yours?"

"I don't  _think_ so … but I don't know."

She frowned and looked over his shoulder for a moment at where Natasha and the other kids were keeping the soldiers from bothering them for the time being — then grabbed him by the hand to pull him around the corner of the barn. She kept hold of his hand and then pressed it against his side. "Check. Tell me if you're okay," she instructed him.

He had to crack a smile at that. "It doesn't work that way," he told her.

"You said you can tell what's wrong. So check. You look… you look like you're hurting," she said. "So something must be wrong."

"I just … freakin'  _killed_  a bunch of people," Tyler said quietly. "Of course something is wrong."

She frowned at that and bit her lip, clearly trying to figure out how to help him. He still looked very upset and wasn't quite meeting her gaze — but that was actually helpful as she screwed up her courage, took a deep breath, and very quickly gave him a peck on the lips. "Um. Yeah. Thanks for saving me," she muttered as she turned a brilliant crimson and then cleared her throat. "There… there's still a fight going on... Are you gonna be okay?"

Tyler looked shocked, though he couldn't drop his gaze from her anymore."Right. I … I think I'll just tell them to send wounded here," he said at last when he got his voice back.

"Do you want me to stay and help?" she offered. "I can totally kick anybody's butt who comes too close if you need me to. I think I'm getting good at throwing people."

"I think I'll be okay," Tyler said.

She raised one eyebrow and looked a bit skeptical before she nodded and reached for her comm. "Hey, um ... Nightcrawler? Me and Lifeguard here have some space to work if you want to send wounded our way. We're by where K holds her outdoor classes."

"I'll tell the bamfs what to do," Kurt replied. "But if you're not too busy, this is an all hands on deck situation…. Apparently."

"Oh ... okay. Well, he's gonna do some healing real fast, but I'll make sure to throw some guys into next week," she said before she nodded, settled down in front of Tyler, and held out her arm. "You said you'd fix me up."

"Right, I did," Tyler agreed, looking around the barn quickly to find a spigot and a bucket to wash up his hands. "I can't do this … like that." When he was finished scrubbing his hands, they were shaking just a bit as he stared at them for a moment. "Okay," Tyler said finally. "What did they do?"

She held out both her arms. "A lot of twisting," she said. "I think something broke? But I'm not sure?"

Tyler nodded and took her arms in his hands very gently, more so than usual, as he did his best to put on his business face. "Soft tissue damage, pulled on your rotator cuff," he muttered to himself before he concentrated hard, eyes closed, to heal the damage quickly. It didn't take long, but when he was done, he barely glanced up. "You should be okay now."

"Thanks," she said, biting her lip as she watched him and wishing she knew how to fix it. She knew that he hated that he'd lost control, but she didn't know how to tell him that he'd also saved her life, and wasn't that worth something too?

But she didn't know how to put words to that, so she simply and softly put her hand on his arm and watched him for a long time.

* * *

The older X-Men fighting on the front lawn hadn't gotten any less irritated as the battle wore on. The fact that K was more than just keeping up didn't ease their minds in the least, but the soldiers had now changed tactics. Apparently, they had decided that the best way to handle the little knot of X-Men plus Clint was to take out those with range first.

One of them missed Scott by a fine margin — enough to graze the side of his head and set him back a step or two before Erik reached out and crushed the weapons of the soldiers nearest the two of them.

"They're getting bolder — and more desperate," Erik observed with a deep frown.

"Yeah," Scott said, bringing his hand back down from his head where his fingers were now caked in blood. Even a minor head wound bled heavily, and he was frowning at the state of affairs.

The move to target everyone but the ferals and Kurt was one that managed to cut the close fighters off from their ranged companions, and that had the two ferals going back to back to keep them from getting any closer. Kurt was dancing around the two of them, filling in the gaps and teleporting soldiers off into the line of their own friendly fire. And the bamfs were diving in to tear apart the soldiers as best as they could as well — their demonic cackles only adding to the confusion of the fight.

Scott called out for them to fall back — it was clear that the two ferals together were just too good of bait for the soldiers, and they were getting overly aggressive about trying to take them down.

Kurt saw the renewed advance of the soldiers and pushed harder to break the line separating the ferals from Scott and the gang. As soon as it was breached, Clint slipped through the gap to help, simply grabbing K's arm with a half-shouted, "C'mon, K. These guys are too handsy, and as your torture hubby, I must defend your honor. Let's go play somewhere else and you can defend mine too."

"Are you crazy? These two can't do it alone," K argued, pulling to get her arn free.

"You mean the teleporting demon who can remove them from a swarming situation — and your other husband? Oh yeah. I'm sure they're real stuck," Clint said without even looking over his shoulder.

"They aren't  _smart enough_ to not get caught up," she pointed out. "Look at the two of them!"

Clint paused and stopped at that, then looked at where Kurt and Logan had fallen into their usual fighting style together — watching each other's backs but very much outnumbered. "And they call  _me_ an idiot," he muttered under his breath before he called out, "HEY! Come play with the rest of us!" He only waited long enough to see Logan look his way for a second — so Logan could see that Clint was with K — before he simply slung K over his shoulder and booked it to safer ground.

"Who's handsy now, sweetie?" K asked, wriggling to get loose.

"I am much more gentlemanly about it. Observe my gentlemanly placement," he countered.

"You're ridiculous," she replied. "Are you planning on setting me down — or are you going for a touchdown?"

"Two-point conversion," he said without missing a beat, though when he heard the  _bamf_ further out and saw that Kurt had teleported himself and Logan to a different spot, he did, in fact, set K down. "Home team's up by nine."

She rolled her eyes at him and turned to get back to work, though Scott and Erik were much closer than they were moments before, and Kate was nearby as well with her sword out — having run low on arrows by that point.

Scott let loose a wide beam to mow down several of the soldiers that had been part of the knot around K and Logan — which he wouldn't have been able to do before without also mowing down his teammates. When Erik followed it up by crushing several soldiers' armor and helmets, the field had significantly thinned, even if there were still plenty of soldiers to be dealt with.

They dove right back into the fight — finally starting to push the soldiers back. But that presented a whole new set of problems, as it seemed the soldiers switched from 'capture' to 'kill' on seeing that they were being driven backwards. Kate let out a cry of surprise when two of the little bamfs teleported her out of the way just before a shot split the air where she had been — and the others could hear angry chattering as the soldiers tried to retaliate by taking potshots at the little bamfs, who were  _not pleased_  about it.

The soldiers quickly regretted trying to take on the little demons, too, since the blue imps simply started to teleport them into the line of fire… or into Storm's lightning strikes, depending on the severity of the potshots the individual soldiers had taken.

Clint was lining up a shot to take out one of the guys who took a potshot at the little demons when he looked beyond his target and noticed what definitely looked like a guy in charge. He frowned for a moment — the guy was far enough away that lip-reading was hard, but the way his lips curled around the word 'ferals' wasn't easy to mistake as the guy ordered a few differently-outfitted soldiers forward to take aim at "just the ferals."

It took him a matter of a few seconds. He glanced first at Kurt and the bamfs, who were distracted with the potshots — Logan was a bit further out of the line of fire because he was doing his thing fighting with Scott. But while he wouldn't normally be worried, there was K's pregnancy to consider… not to mention the guns looked like the one he'd seen take Wade out.

Three soldiers took aim at K, and the whole decision-making process lasted maybe two seconds before he flat threw himself on top of her just a moment before the guns went off.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" K shouted as she tried to get him off. It wasn't until she'd gotten a bit back from him, though, that it registered what Clint had done — and how bad of a hit he had taken in the process. She looked down at his injuries and the fact that there were several holes in his torso and flat snarled at him. " _You idiot!"_  She completely forgot about everything around them as she tried to stop the bleeding in a panic. "I can heal, you moron," K said, pressing on the worst bleeder with both hands.

"Not from carbo-whatever," he said in a gasp, though there was a definite wheeze that told K something had hit a lung.

"What the hell's that got to do with you throwing yourself in front of a bullet?"

"Carbo-bullet," he muttered out his correction.

Her expression dropped and she called out to Kurt. "We need Erik — and you need to get Logan away from those jackasses.  _Please_."

Wide-eyed, Kurt could only nod before he teleported off to get Logan out of the line of fire first — and then to bring Erik to where they were. And a moment later, he teleported away again, this time to dive into the three soldiers with carbonadium bullets with a look of pure fury, all three swords in play. Between Kurt and the bamfs, the soldiers were quickly disabled — and frankly rather terrified by the amount of vigor the bamfs put into making them pay for taking those shots, too.

Erik looked a bit confused at his sudden change of scenery until K called out to him. He rushed over to the bloody scene as K clarified what was happening, explaining bare bones, but at a fast clip, what the problem was, even cutting out any expletives and name calling she had in mind. "He'll need Tyler too," she told Erik. "But maybe shove those carbonadium bullets up their asses first?"

"I'll make sure the bullets find themselves where they need to be," he said, already moving to get the troublesome metal out of Clint, though it was obvious Clint was struggling as he let his head drop forward a few times.

"Don't you  _dare_ close your eyes, mister," K said with a growl.

That got Clint to frown and work his mouth around a little "yes'm" as he tried to do just that. But considering his pallor and the fact that he couldn't keep it together long enough to keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time, K was honestly panicking on his behalf. She knew they had to get the carbonadium out of Clint before Tyler could heal him, but he had to survive that, too, and she was furious with the fact that he might  _not_.

Thankfully, Kurt reappeared just before Erik was finished and teleported the little group of them to Tyler — taking advantage of the fact that K was far more concerned with Clint than she was the fight. When they arrived, it looked like Tyler had just finished healing Cassie, who was sitting up and gasped when she saw what was going on.

"Please make sure Erik gets the bullets in their guns too," K said to Kurt as Tyler rushed over to the downed Hawk.

"Of course," Kurt said, his own voice a low growl as he waited long enough for Erik to confirm that he had done what he could before teleporting them both back to the battlefield.

Tyler hadn't even gotten started, though, when he heard a sound like a shriek and turned to see Natasha standing there looking murderous. "What  _happened_?" she demanded.

"This stupid noble  _idiot_  threw himself in front of a bullet," K told her, clearly upset herself, though the affection was clear in her tone all the same.

Natasha ran over and stopped short of her injured husband, her eyes wide. "Clinton Francis Barton," she bit out. " _Yesli ty umresh', ya ub'yu tebya_."

Tyler pushed both of them back a bit as he started looking over Clint and simply looked more focused and almost angry as he worked on him. He nearly swore under his breath a few times as his lip curled slightly. He growled once, low and rough, and K and Natasha barely glanced at each other at that, but a few minutes later, Tyler finally let out a breath and reached out to slap Clint's cheek. "Don't  _do_ that!" Tyler growled out as soon as Clint was with it enough to look at him. "We talked about that!"

Clint sort of smirked tiredly at him. "Do what? Save K and my birthday buddy?"

"Don't do stupid things that can get you killed," Tyler replied, not looking the least bit amused.

"Oh, right." Clint nodded. He was too tired for more of an argument as he leaned back. "I forgot."

K sat back as Natasha darted forward to smack Clint upside the head herself and shout at him in Russian that it looked like he understood before she kissed the daylights out of him right there in the barn.

No one in the barn had been paying much attention to what was going on outside of saving Clint from his own stupidity, but they could tell things must have been wrapping up when Kate called in over the comms, "Okay, what happened to the idiot Hawkeye?  _Please_ tell me he's okay."

"He's okay," Tyler said. "Currently getting some sense kissed into him, but he's okay."

"Good. Tell him if he scares me like that again, I'll shoot him."

"You'll have to get there before me," Natasha said, finally letting Clint up for some air and giving him a look that was equal parts glare and relief.

"Take a number, Hawkette," K muttered as she made her way over to pull a blanket out of the tack room.

Clint settled into a grumble that was more good-natured than he probably intended it to be. "Gee, thanks, Hawkeye, for spotting the carbo-bullets. Good thing you were there while the demons were getting shot at or Lifeguard's job would have been way harder."

"It was still incredibly stupid," K argued as she covered him with a blanket, even swatting at his hand when he tried to stop her.

"I've been reliably informed, many times, that's the title of my biography," he said, leaning his head on Natasha's shoulder. Healed or no, he'd still lost plenty of blood, and the exhaustion showed through in his tone. "It all worked out, though."

"You're just lucky," Natasha said, shaking her head as she pulled him down a bit so she could rest her chin on top of his head. "Lucky there was a metal manipulator  _and_ a healer close enough to help."

"Yeah ... thanks, Ty," Clint said over his shoulder. "Sorry 'bout that."

"You need a helmet and bullet proof bubble wrap," Tyler said with a sigh.

"I've heard that before," Clint said, waving him off.

When Natasha finally backed off of Clint for a moment and he got to his feet, K let him pull her to her feet before she shook her head and gave him a hug around the neck. "You're still an idiot."

"That's the subtitle of my biography," he joked.

"Oh, you're not going back out there either," K warned, one finger pointed his way.

He frowned at her and rolled both shoulders. "Why not? Ty fixed me up, didn'tcha, Ty?"

Tyler put his hands up in surrender. "One thing I already know is to not argue with her when she's like that," Tyler said. "And … you almost died, so … I'd say you're done today."

"And if you try to argue, I'll make sure you're not even conscious to hear how the battle goes," Natasha promised with a bit of steel in her voice.

He met her gaze for just a moment, and when she didn't blink or smirk, he sighed and sat back. "Fine," he said, slipping off his quiver. "Then at least give Katie the rest of my arrows. She was pretty near out last I saw."

"On it," K said as she snatched up his quiver. "Erik had the creeps with the carbonadium handled."

When Natasha and K left the barn, though, there really wasn't much left to be done except to help chase off the last of the creeps. Every single person out on the lawn of the school had at least a few cuts and bruises, and it seemed Hank and Tyler would have their work cut out for them. But finally, it was safe enough to start bringing the others back so that Noh, Scott, and Forge could set to work putting the security back up before anything else could sneak in while they were exposed — with Tommy's enthusiastic high-speed help.

Everybody seemed to be focused on getting patched up, getting rest, or picking up the pieces as Tammy made her way over to Kurt. The shy blonde was a bit hesitant to interrupt when he was teleporting around and helping with the security, but she finally screwed up her courage to catch him when he 'ported nearby. "Uh ... Professor Wagner? Can I ... can I talk to you for a second?"

Kurt paused at the expression on her face and did a final peek toward where he'd just come from. "Of course," he said as he forced himself to relax a bit. "What can I do for you?"

"Not me," she said, then frowned, shook her head, and let out a sigh. "Well… maybe me. I just… need advice? Tyler sort of… he killed some people, and he's not … yeah."

Kurt looked surprised, but he nodded all the same. "Yes. I'll talk to him," he promised, sure that Tyler had to be taking the whole thing hard — and that Tammy's worry was well-founded, considering how hard Tyler had been working to keep from becoming like his father.

She let her shoulders drop in relief. "Thanks," she said as the breath left her. "I tried to talk to him, but I don't … really know how. I've never killed anyone?" She pushed her hair back from her face. "But it wasn't his fault. Those guys  _had_ me, Professor Wagner. And... and I don't know what would have happened if Ty hadn't stopped them!" she added in a rush, her eyes wide.

Kurt nodded and held up a hand to signal for her to calm down before he glanced over where Logan and K were quietly sitting together under a tree amid the pandemonium, wrapped up in each other. "I can tell you from experience that those with that mutation are particularly protective of those they hold dear." He turned his attention back to Tammy and gave her a softer smile. "I promise, I'll talk to him. It's not like him to even consider doing something like that on purpose. I'm sure it was something that just … took over."

She nodded, her eyes still wide. "I've never seen him use his claws before," she admitted in a hushed tone.

His eyebrows raised high on his forehead as he leaned forward a bit. "His claws?"

"I didn't know he  _had_ them," she whispered. "Like… like lion claws?" she offered, trying to explain. "He's never used them before that I know of. Ever."

"I … have to go," Kurt said. "I'm familiar with the style you're talking about. Don't worry. He's in good hands." Kurt rushed off toward the barn, where he'd last seen Tyler, and when he got there, the young man had a pile of bloodied rags and bandages that had been gathered up in the barn. Tyler had thrown the hoodie he'd been wearing in the pile with the rest of it as Kurt walked up to him.

"Just ... figured I better get this cleaned up before K gets mad about all the blood in here," Tyler said. "I maybe shouldn't have used the barn. The horses are a little … worked up now. Pretty sure it's my doing."

Kurt gave him a tiny laugh as he sat down on a nearby bale of hay. "I'm reasonably sure K will not complain about blood anywhere." He shook his head and carefully watched the boy. "She would have no room — and she's wearing far more than you are right now, even considering all the life-saving you've been up to."

But Tyler was quiet and didn't seem to meet Kurt's gaze as he watched him mill about the barn. "Would you like to talk about it," Kurt asked. "Or would you prefer I got Logan for some meditation?"

"There's ... not much to talk about," Tyler said at last, his gaze downcast. "It's not like I can take it back."

"I still think it could do you some good to talk about it. Confession is good for the soul," Kurt said with a smirk.

Tyler let out a breath of a laugh at that almost despite himself. "I just… lost control. I should have kept a better handle on it, and it doesn't excuse me — but I lost control."

"You have a better handle on it than most that I know," Kurt told him gently. "And I believe that there were extenuating circumstances in this situation."

Tyler shook his head stubbornly. "There's no excuse for  _murder_. That's… I never wanted to cross that line."

"You defended your friend," Kurt said. "What would have happened to her had you not protected her?"

That had Tyler right on the edge of a growl again. "I don't really want to think about that."

"But if you plan to carry this, you need to weigh both sides of the story," Kurt reasoned. "Yes, you lost control — but it wasn't for any reason other than to save a helpless girl. I'm not sure that 'murder' is quite the right description. At least not in its basest definition."

"It doesn't really matter how you word it," Tyler muttered, his gaze on his hands.

"No?" Kurt challenged. "So everyone that kills is evil? Who did you say your favorite team member was again?"

"No," Tyler said quickly. "No ... that's different. That's... "

"How?" Kurt asked. "From how Tammy described it, you did exactly as Logan would have. Or as I would have."

"That's not..." Tyler looked at him wide-eyed. "I killed them with my bare hands," he said in what was hardly a whisper. "It's not the same."

"And I have killed in my friends' defense using only my tail, while Logan specializes in using his claws — or his bare hands, with nothing at all," Kurt said as he got to his feet and took a few steps toward him. "It is the same. Exactly the same."

"I've just … I've just worked so hard not to," Tyler said, still staring down at his hands. "I don't  _ever_ want to be like him. Like Sabretooth."

Kurt nodded in understanding. "Ah, yes. Well, it just so happens I know a thing or two about looking like an evil parent. Two, in my case. You? You are nothing like him any more than I am like my own father."

"No, you're nothing like him," Tyler had to agree, finally meeting Kurt's gaze with a small smile.

"If it will make you feel better, I can take you to Logan — and he will hit you for thinking this way."

"I don't know that getting hit will make me feel much better," Tyler said with a breath of a laugh.

"Yes, but if he hears you've been comparing yourself to Victor — he  _will_  hit you." Kurt grinned. "Do you think that he would allow you to remain here if you were anything like him? And who better to know?"

"I've never lost control like that before, though," Tyler said.

Kurt's smile went a bit crooked as he grinned up at Tyler. "Perhaps it's because you never had that much to lose before." He shrugged when Tyler didn't seem to react right away. "Tammy was very concerned for you."

"Is she alright?" Tyler asked, looking concerned as well — and missing Kurt's insinuation entirely in the process. "She saw the whole thing."

"And yet she didn't run from you," Kurt pointed out. "Maybe you weren't as fearsome as you thought you were."

"Maybe," Tyler allowed. He started to smile the slightest bit as he thought it over. "She's pretty tough, though."

"If you doubt me and my years and years of wisdom and experience in spotting vicious, evil creatures, then you know what the next step is,  _ja_?" Kurt said.

Tyler nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "I should probably talk to my bishop anyway. I'm supposed to bless the sacrament, and… I want to make sure I'm still okay to do that."

"Then you should do that sooner rather than later," Kurt advised. "I think you'll be surprised."

"Yeah, I'll give him a call. As soon as we're finished here," Tyler promised, gesturing toward the barn door, where they could see a giant Cassie helping with some of the cleanup. "And… I should probably talk to Tammy."

"I think she'd like to see that you're trying to come to terms with everything that happened," Kurt said as the two of them headed out to join the rest of the mansion residents.

They had only just made it to where Tammy was when a very loud wolf whistle split the air. All three turned to see Tommy, blood-splattered and grinning, giving them two thumbs up. "About time you two got together," he said, waving his hand between Tyler and Tammy.

"What… what are you…?" Tammy asked as both she and Tyler flushed bright red, though when they finally glanced at each other, they both realized what had happened. Both of them had blood smears on their faces, and they very clearly lined up.

Both blondes quickly wiped their faces clean of the blood, blushing furiously, as Tommy just cackled. "Ooh, Tammy. Did did you get to second base with your sweet little Mormon boy?" he teased — though, to the relief of both Tammy and Tyler, Tommy stopped his teasing when Erik made his way over with Kate, who was insisting that he needed Tyler to look him over even as he was insisting that she get the gash over her eye looked at first.

But when Erik saw that Tommy was fairly covered in blood, he frowned at his grandson. "Are you alright, Thomas?" he asked, the concern evident in his tone.

Tommy shrugged openly. "I'm messy, but I'm fine," he assured Erik. He had none of the teasing tone in his voice, though, as he zipped over to where Erik was, wiped one arm and shoulder clean as best he could, and tried to offer a shoulder for Erik to lean on. "How about you? You holding up?"

Rather than lean on Tommy, Erik simply put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine. I'm no invalid — I'm simply old," he said, though everyone there could see he was touched by the concern.

"Well," Tommy said, thinking it over. "You should still let Ty look at you. 'Cause… you need to stick around for a while, okay?" He said that last part in a rush, and when Erik looked at him with a soft smile, the speedster darted off to avoid anyone accusing him of enjoying the slowly growing bond with his grandfather.

"It's probably a good idea for  _everyone_ to get themselves looked over," Kurt said as he slipped past the two blonde teenagers who were still red from the busting out from Tommy to pull Kate a bit closer so he could look over the gash over her eye. "Are you alright,  _liebchen_?" he asked softly.

She waved off his concern by standing on her toes to kiss him. "I'm fine," she assured him. "How's Krissy?"

Kurt pulled her a bit closer to him as Tyler went to go look over Erik first. "She's fine. She and the other little ones have been playing with Leslie Ann, Annie, Daisy, and Jubilee."

"That's a list of the most sunshiney, fun people I know," Kate laughed lightly.

"Then we know she's in good hands," Kurt agreed before he gently handed Kate off to Tyler. "Now ... I hope you'll forgive me, but I have to go track down the rest of our teammates. Some of them are nearly as stubborn as you are about getting their wounds tended to," he teased her before he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

…..

Translation from Russian:

" _Yesli ty umresh', ya ub'yu tebya_." - "If you die, I'll kill you."


	17. Logan Wins The Bet

After the attack on the mansion, things were finally starting to settle down. Classes resumed that next Monday, which helped to restore more of a feeling of normalcy, and Tyler was sitting in his usual homework spot after classes.

He had more than his usual class load to do, though. He'd taken Kurt's advice and talked to his bishop. Bishop Graham had reiterated most of what Kurt said, though not with the same tone of personal experience with death that Kurt had. But the bishop had emphasized something  _else_ — the fact that Tyler was using his God-given gifts to defend his home, family, and friends. And why, Bishop Graham had asked, would he degrade what God had given him by trying to hide it away rather than honing his gifts?

So, Tyler had been given some reading homework. He was supposed to read the parable of the talents in the New Testament, not to mention the story of Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon as well as D&C 98 and 134.

That's what he was doing when Logan found him — reading over his assignment from his bishop.

_We believe that all men are justified in defending themselves, their friends, and property, and the government, from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigency, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws, and relief afforded._

Tyler was almost shaking his head to himself as he read it; clearly Bishop Graham had been picking his assignments carefully. But he looked up when Logan sat down across from him.

"A little Elf told me you needed a slap upside the head — or somethin' like that," Logan said as he leaned back and watched the tall, blond young man.

Tyler couldn't help but smirk at that. "I'd prefer not to get hit," he said. "Maybe instead you could just ... help me with my control."

"You think it's a problem?" Logan asked, frowning slightly at the way Tyler's body language was screaming guilt.

"I'm still not sure on that front," Tyler admitted. "I'm not sure of a lot of it."

"We've been workin' on that right along, so what's the deal?" Logan asked, sounding a bit more rough. "You don't think it's workin', you want to try somethin' else — or you just need me to hit you real hard?"

"Oh, no — it's working great. I really appreciate it," Tyler told him quickly. "I've just never ... well... Did Kurt tell you what happened?"

"Kinda glossed over it. Said you protected one of the girls, an' some guys got what was comin' to 'em. You wanna elaborate a little so I know what's got a knot in your knickers?"

Tyler set aside his books so he could lean forward with a small frown. "That part — the part where I was protecting Tammy — I'm good with that part. But I didn't know what I was  _doing_ , really. I lost control."

"It happens. Usually when you're so pissed off you can't see straight," Logan said. He shook his head and let out a slow breath. "The crash after is rough. But it's part of the deal. I've tried for … hell. Eighty years or better to not let it happen. All it really does is make it worse when you do snap."

"So you're telling me I can't stop it from happening," Tyler said, sounding down. "Great."

Logan looked at him hard for a moment and carefully considered his answer. "That's not exactly what I said," he replied slowly. "I  _said_ the more you try to stop it from happening, the worse it'll be when you  _can't_ hold it back. Tell me what you remember."

Tyler took a deep breath. "I just — heard Tammy call for help and saw the guys dragging her off, and I lost my temper. I took it out on anyone in a Weapon X uniform — and I couldn't stop myself."

"Did you hurt any of your teammates?" Logan asked. "Or try to?"

Tyler shook his head. "No, I wasn't mad at  _them_."

"Then you  _didn't_ totally lose control," Logan told him quietly. "You're fine."

"It can get  _worse_?"

Tyler looked over at Logan with a concerned expression, almost holding his breath as Logan very slowly nodded. "Ask Slim," Logan said. "Doesn't happen to me very often, but when it does, the first thing he does is get our side out.  _Fast._ "

"That's… not all that comforting," Tyler admitted.

Logan let out a sigh. "Well, let me try an' ease your mind a bit. As much as you hate hearing about your father or anything you might have in common with him? I've known him my whole life. More or less. He's  _never_ lost it to that degree. Every. So I don't think you have to worry about it. All the havoc he wreaks is because he likes it." He leaned a bit closer. "Far as I'm concerned ... all this guilty conscience you're dealin' with is proof positive that you're fine. All you got from Vic was the mutation and an unfortunate resemblance. You got your mom's heart, and that outweighs the rest of it by more'n I can tell you."

Tyler was nearly grinning outright at hearing that last part. "Thanks," he said at last before he had to smirk. "Worked better than hitting me, I think."

"Debatable," Logan argued. "I haven't hit you yet."

"Yeah, don't do that," Tyler said, the smirk widening. "Let's keep doing what's working instead."

Logan nodded as he got to his feet. "Fine by me. But Ty, you're still gonna have to learn to use your claws. Like it or not, you should be able to work 'em without going over the red line." He started to walk away from Tyler before he called over his shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll be workin' with me. Even if you lose it, I can take whatever you can manage to dish out."

* * *

It was finally sunny after a bout of late April storms, and all of the little ones were outside enjoying the fresh air together that weekend as the mansion residents hosted a barbecue.

Charlie had gone off away from the others who were playing in the mud and puddles and came back with a handful of dandelions that she shoved into her brother's hand and pointed at Elin to instruct him to give her the flowers — which he did, of course.

Elin looked at them for a minute, fascinated, before she dropped most of them and then put one in her mouth.

Charlie rushed over, shaking her head. "No eatnin them!" she tried to explain. "Just pretty!"

But Elin got up, the flower head still in her mouth, and took off, running from Charlie and shaking her head as Charlie chased after her — trying to tell her the flowers were muddy and not for eating. Scott and Logan shared a quick look and both had to smirk at the very familiar scene.

Sying, on the other hand, watched the whole thing with a look of interest before he picked up one of Elin's discarded flowers and popped one in his mouth too — then offered Krissy one of the flowers. But she shook her head and made a face at the muddy yellow flower and went back to playing in the mud.

Undeterred, the little guy trotted over to try now to help her play in the mud 'properly'. He jumped in a little puddle and then tried to pull her up so he could help her jump too, and she batted him away several times before finally, frustrated, she shouted "NO!" at the top of her lungs.

The rest of the kids all stopped what they were doing and looked toward Krissy and Sying — and a moment later, Elin broke down laughing in a fit of giggles until she fell squarely on her bottom.

Kate looked almost flabbergasted that  _this_ was her daughter's first word before she stepped in to pull Krissy and Sying apart. It was clear the little guy didn't know what to do with being yelled at — and it wouldn't be nice to let those two get into a fight on such a pleasant afternoon.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Kate asked, and Krissy scrunched up her face.

"No!" Krissy insisted, pointing at Sying.

But little Sying looked genuinely upset and gathered up all the remaining flowers to try to hold out to her, clearly very sorry he'd upset her, which only got another "NO" in return before Noh had to step in.

"She's perfected it," K whispered to Logan, who was chuckling into his beer. "Has to take after mom. The Elf would  _never_ be like that."

"That's the God's honest truth," Logan replied, still snickering to himself before he raised his voice enough for Kurt to hear. "Looks like Krissy's a Katie."

Kurt shook his head Logan's way, laughing despite himself. "Well, she did get her looks from me," he chuckled.

"And everything else from Katie," Jubilee sang out with a wide grin.

"What, like Kurt's never lost his temper?" Kate grumbled good naturedly.

"No," Logan said in a long, drawn out tone, shaking his head. "Never ever."

Kate stuck her tongue out at him before Krissy started to wriggle around. She had calmed down a bit now that Sying wasn't bothering her and wanted to play. When Kate set her down, the little girl made a beeline for Elin, who was still giggling, and put her hand on Elin's mouth to get her to stop.

"No,  _nej, nein, nyet,_ " Elin chanted out, still giggling.

Krissy glared at her friend and tried to cover her mouth a little better, shaking her head. "No-o-o-o!" she said, drawing it out as she shook her head hard.

Elin looked up at her with one eyebrow raised up and her eyes twinkling before she scooted closer, gave her a hug, and patted her back. "Yes."

Krissy let out a very frustrated sigh before she snuggled her best friend — while the adults in the group tried very hard not to snort out their drinks at the display.

"Totally not like anyone we've ever seen," K chuckled.

"Watch out — she'll be calling Elin a mini hug magnet now that she can talk," Kate said with a smirk, gesturing at the cuddled up little girls.

"She'll have to get past 'no' first," Logan pointed out. "And then it'll be two generations of wrong."

"So the cuddling of both Chance and Krissy nonstop is just a fluke thing?" Kate asked with one eyebrow raised.

"It's a baby thing," Logan replied, tipping his beer bottle back. "She'll grow out of it."

"So when do  _you_ grow out of it?" Kate teased.

He gave her a dry look. "Bout a hundred and twenty-five years ago."

"Must be a second childhood then. Midlife crisis. Reverting to hug magnetry," Kate remarked philosophically. She shook her head at K. "Don't go letting him buy shiny new cars and getting his hair dyed now."

"Thanks for reminding me — I need to do something with mine," K said. "I'm done with the blonde thing. Wanna help me cut it?"

"Sure!" Kate grinned outright. "I liked the original color better anyway."

"So just cut off all the blonde," K replied with a shrug.

"That won't leave you with much," Annie pointed out.

"I know. Just gonna shave it all off. It'll grow back."

Annie looked horrified. "Just  _shave_ it off?" She shook her head. "Isn't that a bit drastic?"

"No, it'll be back to normal in a few days," K said. "Tops."

"You know — the way Logan does the mountain man thing," Kate chuckled.

"Not exactly the same," K said, shaking her head. "But you can help if you want, Annie."

Annie shook her head. "No, no ... I'll… leave that to you two," she said, waving one hand at them.

"I'll bet Storm would start with a mohawk and then take the rest off," K said with a grin. "We could dye it like … rainbow first. Could be fun."

Storm looked up from her quiet conversation with Forge and smirked her way. "You never know — you may decide to keep it."

"I might, but that would be a lot of upkeep," K replied. "Easier just to let it grow."

While the adults were talking, Sying had tried to sneakily grab a cookie from the table, though of course he wasn't nearly as sneaky as he thought he was being. But the adults nearest him pretended not to see him sneak the sweets as he rushed back over to where Krissy was babbling with Elin to tap her on the shoulder and sheepishly hold out the cookie.

Krissy stared at him and the cookie before she very carefully took it from his outstretched hand. He waited until she took a bite out of it before he very quietly said, "Sorry."

Those that were half paying attention turned to see what exactly was going on, and Noh and Jubilee both looked as if they were going to melt into a puddle at the sweet little boy.

But that ended quickly when K, watching the little guy started very low — just enough that Logan and Noh could hear. "Oh. My. God.  _No._ " She looked over to Jubilee and Noh wide-eyed and with an expression that had Jubilee almost concerned until she got just loud enough for Jubilee and those nearest to hear. "You …. You made an alien  _Canadian_. His first word was an apology!" She shot Logan a delighted look as she put her hands up in presentation of the little guy. "Who knew maple syrup was thicker than blood?!" He gave her a look a split second before she turned tail and flat took off at a run, cackling to herself hysterically as he raced after her with a shouted 'You got Elin, right, Elf?'.

Kurt was shaking his head on seeing her antics but had to grin at Jubilee. "He's a very sweet little boy," he told her and Noh.

"He really is," Jubilee said with a grin. "And I don't blame K — that was a  _really_ good shot. He's not gonna be nearly as mad at her as he would anyone else for that."

"And it's a good thing too, because that was beautiful, and I'm just mad I didn't think of it faster," Kate giggled, unable to control herself as she watched her daughter scrutinize the very sincere-looking little boy before she gave him a hug and split her cookie with him. "And hey — apparently our daughter can be bribed with chocolate. How  _did_ that happen?" she giggled.

"It's a mystery," Kurt replied with a little chuckle before he simply teleported over to her and, still laughing, presented her with a cookie at eye level.

She burst out laughing, completely unable to stop, until she finally had the wherewithal to snatch the sweets from his hand and then throw her arms around his neck to kiss him, still giggling the whole time.

* * *

It took the combined efforts of Logan, Scott, and Kurt to get K to  _finally_ go down for a check up with Hank for her pregnancy. She didn't want to cooperate, and they all knew it had more to do with how miserable she'd been the last time than how she was feeling this time around.

"I swear, I'm fine," K had promised, but outside of the initial ultrasound to try and determine a due date — she simply hadn't returned to see Hank outside of having a cup of coffee with him in the kitchen.

It was Annie that had finally found the right button to hit.

"You should be able to see what you're having by now," Annie said. "I know you're not too worried about it, but wouldn't it be nice to know what the little one is so you can at least get Wade to stop sending ridiculous name suggestions?" She paused when it looked like K still was ignoring her reasoning. "It might be good to double check that you don't have twins cooking in there. Seeing as ours hid for a while. Though your bump is just precious."

That got K to stop and look up at her with a little frown, her hand still resting on top of her stomach. "How long did he hide? And I know it was him, so don't even try it."

"Oh, it was nearly halfway through my pregnancy before we even had an inkling," Annie said. "I just thought I was gaining weight faster because of all the banana bread until Hank finally spotted him."

"That's not funny," K said, staring at Annie. "And it's more disturbing because I  _know_ you're not lying."

"Chance was a surprise in all sorts of ways," Annie said with a little laugh. "We thought he was a girl until he arrived."

K let out a sigh and pushed her coffee away. "Fine. But only to make sure there aren't a freakin' litter of 'em in there."

Scott grinned Annie's way. It was an angle he hadn't thought of using — but it was apparently effective, as K and Logan headed down to see Hank and 'get it over with', as she put it.

Hank, of course, was tickled to see her finally making an appearance, and they'd just gotten the blood draw over with and the equipment set up when there was an unexpected visitor.

Natasha paused in the doorway with a slight frown when she saw that Hank already had other patients. "I can come back," she said before she'd even gotten through the door.

"Or you can come in and wait your turn," Logan said with a smirk. "He can leave the machines out for ya."

Natasha gave him a very dry look before she let out a sigh and settled into a nearby seat. "Not a word," she breathed out his way.

K looked past him as she tried to get comfortable. "We three know. So no words needed." She did very theatrically mouth out 'I hope you get a girl' to her, though.

Natasha leaned back with a heavy sigh. "Typical," she said, shaking her head. "Of course I come when  _all three of you_  are in one place."

"Just waitin' for you to catch up, darlin'," Logan told her. "Been pretty obvious to some of us, but no one's said a word."

She quirked an eyebrow. "I ... didn't think it would happen this quickly," she admitted. "I only just told him we'd start trying last month," she added, gesturing toward a nervous-looking Clint as he poked his head inside.

"What are the chances that you were already?" K asked, smirking at her.

"That's what I'd like Henry to tell me," she said, tipping her head at the good doctor.

"It won't take me long to finish up here," Hank told her. "This test isn't too lengthy."

K made a face at that and leaned her head back as Hank got started, though she half-heartedly watched as he made his measurements and muttered a bit about how the little one wasn't being very cooperative. That at least earned a smirk from her and she got a little kiss from Logan, who also found the humor in it.

Once Hank was done with the technical stuff, he moved on to the shots of the little one's profile and little hands, and then he paused and turned to both of them. "Do you want to know?" Hank asked. "Or do you want to keep it quiet?" He glanced toward Natasha and Clint for a moment, but the two ferals didn't seem to consider keeping it to themselves.

"Go ahead, Blue," Logan said.

Hank was grinning widely, clearly double checking what he saw due to 'some more uncooperative children in the past', before he cheerfully passed on the news that this one was a little boy.

"Congrats!" Clint burst out, beaming. "Whatever you do, do  _not_ name him after me, even if he shares my birthday."

"No danger in that happenin'," Logan promised. "On either count — 'cause it ain't gonna go that long."

"That's what you think," Clint said happily before Natasha slipped over to kiss Logan's cheek and squeeze K's arm.

"We'll hurry up and get out of your way now," K said before she turned to Hank. "Isn't that right?"

Hank of course nodded and finished what he was doing before he let K get rid of the messy gel and sit upright. As soon as she did, she pulled Natasha into a little hug. "Good luck," she said. "We'll leave you some privacy."

"If you're already here…." Natasha trailed off and looked toward Logan.

Logan pulled K over to wrap his arms around her from behind then kissed her behind the ear. "That's Russian for 'I'd like you to stay'," Logan rumbled. "So we will."

"I just want someone in case Clint faints," Natasha said gruffly, and Clint did, indeed, look fairly nervous. He hadn't been asked to be part of any of this with Jess, so it was new for him too.

"That's a good idea," K said, nodding solemnly as she and Logan settled in across the room. "I'll slap him for you if he does."

"I'm  _fine_ ," Clint said, though he was leaning against the bed that Natasha hopped onto as Hank started up his examinations, and Natasha pulled him down to affectionately kiss his cheek before she smacked him upside the head.

"Stop that, Clint. This is a good thing," she told him.

But at that, he did soften his stance and nodded, leaning over to kiss her outright. "Yeah. Yeah, it really is," he breathed out, then kissed her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That concludes this volume! Keep your eyes open for "Kate And Kurt's Not At All Excellent Adventure" SOON!!!


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